Chasten Buttigieg Announces Debut Picture Book: ‘I Wanted My Kids to See Themselves’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Chasten Buttigieg and the cover of ‘Papa’s Coming Home’.Photo:Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers; Carina Teoh

Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers; Carina Teoh

Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers

Eventually a friend said, “I think you just need to write one.” So I did and I started noodling on these characters that were floating around in my head. I was working on this particular story on an airplane and thinking about how excited I was to get home to my kids, and that shared experience of excitement for someone to come home, especially a parent who you’ve been missing and that unconditional love for your kid that’s the best thing in the world to come home to.You’re also the author of the memoirI Have Something to Tell Youand its young adult adaptation. What was it like to switch over to writing a children’s picture book?Figuring out a story that squeezes into 20-30 pages was difficult for me, but getting in the mind of a toddler was easier because I was right in it with the books that we’re reading right now. We read a ton of books every single day, and so I was kind of immersed in all of these worlds, and the language, and was thinking about the book that I wish was in my hands that I was reading to them.

What kinds of books does your family like to read together?Iactually just came home from a work trip the other day and grabbedHow Airports Work.[The kids] love airplanes, they love airports. We’re beginning withPete the Catright now … We have a book called13 Buildings Children Should Know, and we just look at Notre Dame and the Parthenon. They like to look at all these details in the book.I’m really grateful forAda Twist, Scientist, so we try to keep those ones front-of-shelf … especially [so] Penelope can see herself in some of these roles. I think it’s really important, especially from a young age, that they’re seeing themselves and their possibilities on the page.

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Chasten Buttigieg.Carina Teoh

Carina Teoh

You previously told PEOPLE that with your first book, you would send passages to Pete before they were published. Was that the case forPapa’s Coming Home? Have you shared the book with your kids too?Oh yeah, we do story time every night … [which] definitely for me, as the improv theater kid, is very fun. It’s also very fun to watch Pete have to do this, but this is where I would test out some of these characters. We would tell stories about a family and what they did, and you can kind of see [the kids’] faces rise and fall and see what works and what doesn’t work.

The most powerful thing that has happened so far is getting the art back from the book and looking at the art. My kids came into the kitchen and saw me working on my laptop, and I was going through the art and Penelope just went, “That’s me. And that’s Gus and that’s Daddy.” It’s just really, really special that she saw herself immediately.Did you learn anything about yourself as an author or as a parent while working on the book?A lot of parenting is hard. It’s nonstop, and especially when you have twins, and sometimes when you’re solo parenting and the other one’s on the road. I think one of the universal lessons that’s come out of parenting, also writing a book, is to slow down and appreciate it … It’s something that I’m very conscious of when I’m on the road. That time is so valuable and it’s so short, and there are things that you miss.

Chasten Buttigieg (left) and Pete Buttigieg.Paul Morigi/Getty

Paul Morigi/Getty

Penelope and Gus just celebrated their third birthday. Were there any other special memories or milestones for your family this summer? Is there anything you’re looking forward to?They’ve been tackling swimming, which has been incredible to watch … They thrive off of one another. And then, at other times, they’re so independent … I just love watching how brave they are. They want to pet every animal, even if it’s a big horse or a cow. They want to jump into the water. We go for hikes in the woods, and they’re not afraid to run ahead on the trail and see what they can find. It makes me really proud of how brave they are and how curious they are … I’m really, really proud of us for cultivating that.

Pete Buttigieg, Chasten Buttigieg, and their children Penelope and Gus attend the annual Easter Egg Roll in 2023.Drew Angerer/Getty

Drew Angerer/Getty

Is there a message that you hope readers will take away fromPapa’s Coming Home?[After] I came off book tour for my young adult book [I] spent a lot of time talking to parents about how I wish my parents had told me they would love me unconditionally when I was younger. I have a fantastic relationship with my parents now, but that all came from growing up in rural conservative, northern Michigan where we didn’t talk about LGBTQ+ people.

I spent a lot of time on that book tour talking about unconditional love and how if we tell our kids we will love them unconditionally no matter who they are, then that can save us a lot of grief and time in the future.

I just wanted this book to show unconditional love … that’s the thing that we tell our kids when we go to bed every night, when we tuck them in and kiss them good night — that they’re so loved and they’re so wanted. We ask them questions before we go to bed every night. We always say, “Are we safe? Are we loved?”

There’s so many things in my life that I appreciate, but that kind of love you have for your kid is so strong. That’s the only thing I want to come home to.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Papa’s Coming Homewill be published on May 13, 2025 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com