Following his first two adventures, Milo, the disabled kitten who can’t jump, returns with a new adventure promoting encounter and diversity, this time on Pluto, as an interplanetary ambassador.

On Pluto, a probe has detected a population of small, furry, sentient animals. Everyone agrees that a human would scare them and compromise any relationship between the two species for ever. They need an intermediary, an expert in communication and an example of brotherhood. So NASA thinks of Milo, the brave and sympathetic disabled cat, for the first space mission in which an animal will not be a guinea pig but rather a valuable partner. During the long voyage to the stars, studded with extraordinary encounters with space residents, Mila stops off in Animal Heaven, where he meets some old friends who are no longer with us. In the end, he returns home feeling richer and less different than ever.

How do a disabled little cat, a young woman and a penguin manage to reach the South Pole by themselves? A fairy tale for all ages about friendship, courage and freedom.

Three years have passed since their lucky meeting and Milo and his mum have relocated to a little house by the sea. Although he’s never completely learnt to jump or walk straight, the increasingly self-confident little cat dares to take long walks to the beach, where one day he meets an emperor penguin chick, snatched away from the South Pole by unscrupulous smugglers. Feeling sorry for him, Milo decides to help. So he persuades his mum to embark on a long journey to save his new friend. From Rome to Buenos Aires, then down to Tierra del Fuego and finally Antarctica, Milo and the young woman discover a world that’s increasingly threatened by humans. A journey to the edge of our fears, during which Milo meets animals who are fierce only in appearance – among them a killer whale, a condor and a jaguar – who have a story to tell and much need of friendship. Our big-hearted little cat does not shy away and discovers that, if we truly believe it, nothing is impossible.                                                                                                                

A stark, powerful novel that tackles a subject nobody talks about: fat-shaming, obesity – from bullying, to self-harm, prejudice, perfectionism and acceptance. A book about addictions – food, love, pharmaceutical drugs – that undermines every stereotype.

English sample available

“‘It’s very easy,’ my mother says. ‘Just stick two fingers down your throat.’ She encourages me. She didn’t teach me how to put on make-up – she taught me how to vomit.”

 

There’s the weight you can’t lose, even after you’ve lost it all. Matilde knows that. She began putting on weight at the age of six and has been hungry all her life. By the age of sixteen, she weighs 80 kilos, by eighteen 48. Laxatives, diuretics and irrepressible attacks of vomiting. Until, following an abusive relationship, she exceeds 130 kilos. She is so obese that she cannot find shoes and bras that fit and cannot even manage to put on her tights. So obese that she is afraid of breaking chairs. And when she leaves home there is always someone looking at her with contempt, who absolutely wants to tell her she has a problem, tell her what to do and how. So Matilde shuts herself at home for three years, has everything delivered and pretends she’s normal on social media. But what does normal mean?

 

          

 

Milo is a disabled kitten: a fairy tale for all ages, about friendship, love and resilience.

Milo is a completely black kitten, the only survivor of his litter, affected by a disorder of the nervous system. Milo zigzags, wobbles, falls backwards and, in particular, cannot jump. When even Mummy Cat leaves him, Milo seems doomed to a bad ending… But then one stormy night he meets a girl who will change his life: Milo now has a home, a patient, caring new human mummy and many friends: Virgil the seagull, G-Attila the miniature scorpion and Julia the hedgehog. His difficulties aren’t over, of course, but love and the invaluable advice of those close to him will help Milo appreciate his uniqueness, his strength and life’s beauty.

Illustrations by Giacomo Bagnara.