Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, has a children’s picture book coming next year, People magazine reports.
Philomel will publish Buttigieg’s Papa’s Coming Home, illustrated by Dan Taylor, in the spring of 2025. The press describes it as “a charming picture book about unconditional love…perfect for families who love each other the whole year through.”
Chasten Buttigieg worked as a teacher before coming into the national spotlight in 2018 when he married Pete Buttigieg, then the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a rising star in Democratic politics. Chasten Buttigieg served as a spokesman and adviser on his husband’s 2020 presidential campaign.
He published his first book, the memoir I Have Something To Tell You, in 2020; in a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called it “engrossing and deeply inspiring.” Last year, he released a young adult version of the book.
Papa’s Coming Home follows Jojo and Rosie, two children eagerly awaiting the return of one of their fathers from a trip. Chasten Buttigieg said he was inspired to write it after being unable to find kids’ books that reflected families that looked like his own.
“I just wanted a story, a day in the life of a family like ours, and I wanted my kids to see themselves in one of these stories,” he said.
Papa’s Coming Home is scheduled for publication on May 13, 2025.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
