Ever since her grandfather moved into the House of Music, a home for retired musicians, Renata’s Tuesdays—her visiting days—are anything but relaxing. Granddad has fallen in love with a soprano with a soft spot for wearing wigs, the double bass player keeps running away, a stray cat wants to be adopted, and then there’s this boy dressed like Batman, who says that music is nothing but noise to him …
To make matters worse, Granddad has sent her on a mission: Renata is supposed to look for an instrument she want to play, so that she can become a musician, like everyone else in her family. But how do you choose between the piccolo and the tuba, the synthesizer and the drums, or cello and ukulele? And what would happen if she wanted to do something completely different? What would happen if the solution was to not choose at all?Inspired by the true story of the Casa Verdi in Milan—a refuge for penniless, elderly musicians founded by the composer Giuseppe Verdi in the late 19th century—this charming book is a tale about a cast of quirky characters who all have one thing in common: their deep love of music.

MADDALENA VAGLIO TANET (*1985) is a poet, a novelist, and a children’s book author. She studied literature at the University of Pisa and Columbia University in New York, beyond her work as a writer, she also works as a literary scout. Her debut novel, Tornare dal bosco, has been nominated for the Premio Strega and the Premio Flaiano 2023 and is currently being translated into five foreign languages.

GIOVANNI COLANERI (*1991) works as an author and illustrator with publishers in Italy and abroad. He studied graphic design and illustration in Florence and Urbino. His illustrations and children's books have won numerous awards and are exhibited internationally.