Maria and all the Grannies of the World: A story of kindness during the 2020 Coronavirus crisis

Foreword The illustrated children story you are about to read has been created during the first three/four months of the global outbreak of the Coronavirus Covid-19 in 2020. This is a very strange and difficult time; it is a period full of anxiety, of isolation, of distance between families and between friends; it is a moment in time of pain, of fear and worries in terms of emotions, health, finances as well as what the future might bring. But it also a moment where it is very important to keep hope and love at the centre of our thoughts and our days.

This book is for my family in Italy and in the UK; it is also for all my friends and their families in Italy, in the UK, in Spain, in France, in China, in Germany, in the US, in Canada, in SouthKorea, in New Zealand, in Switzerland, in Sweden. And this book is also a love letter for all the people and elders that the Coronavirus is taking away from us; it is a tragedy for many communities who are losing a generation - parents and grand-parents and their most vulnerable dear family members. Our hearts break that within this loss, people aren't able to be physically close to those who get sick; no chance for a face to face good-bye, a last hug, a last kiss.

But in amongst this time of difficulty there are stories of extraordinary kindness – perhaps like never before we see and hear of us caring ans sharing with and for one another in beautiful ways. I wanted to write a story that tells of this kindness; it is a book for all of us who are and must stay apart, who feel lonely and worried in their isolation. I hope it will shine a ray of hope into your days. We all are in this together, everywhere in the world; even if some are more impacted than others. And so, let's be there for each other in all the different ways we can, no matter how big or small.

Yours, Luca P.s. in Italy we call our Grannies 'Nonne' and here I call them 'Nonnas'...