Nice to meet you from Italy!!!

Alex, welcome! Warm greetings to you and Manuel from Japan to Sardinia! 

First of all, huge congratulations to you on the birth of your son! It sounds like you two have an exciting multilingual journey ahead! 

And I'm very happy to hear that my book, and my work, can be a source of encouraging support to you with your multilingual aim. If you'd consider sharing your impressions of the book with other parents, including through a review at Amazon and Goodreads, I'd be very grateful to you. 

As for which minority language to emphasize first, there's no "right" answer, really, and I think either way could work.

French as the first minority language might be "easier" in the sense that you have stronger ability in that language already, and English could be introduced a bit later in your journey, with support from the school system. (I'm assuming that English is taught in the schools there.) Plus, it could be more challenging to nurture French as the second minority language, instead of English, if there are fewer sources of support for French where you are.

However, if you're motivated to foster his English ability first, and you're willing to put in the daily effort toward this goal, then your English could also grow along with his own.

I guess another key question is: Which language do you want to establish as your main means of communication with him, for your emotional bond, at least initially? Would you feel more comfortable communicating with him in French or in English?

So I would encourage you to consider the potential pros and cons of each possibility, and base your decision on both your personal feelings and the practical circumstances of your situation.

And please set aside your doubts concerning solo parents and success. In fact, I just had a consultation today with a single mother who has a similar multilingual aim for her daughter. Her daughter is now 3 and is already making very strong progress in the first two languages. At this forum, too, Marisa  is having a lot of success with her four-year-old daughter. As she has pointed out, solo parents sometimes have the advantage of maintaining more consistency in the target language without another parent present who speaks a different language.

About reading aloud, I recommend that you read picture books to your son, in whichever language you choose to pursue as your first minority language. You could also start collecting "wordless picture books," which are a very useful resource for telling stories and talking about books in any language. For much more on reading aloud, please see Challenge #1: Read to Your Children Every Day at the Take a Challenge board.

Alex, I hope this initial response is helpful! I look forward to following your journey with little Manuel! Give him a big hug from me! 

Alex, I'm happy to be helpful! And I thank you for your kind support in sharing your positive impressions of my book with others.

It sounds like you have a lot of passion for English so I have no doubt that this passion can carry you and Manuel a long, long way on your bilingual (multilingual) journey together.

Just keep in mind that the two most important things you can do to nurture his firm and active foundation in English are...

1. Talk a lot to him in English. Get into the habit of being as talkative as you can, every day. I know he won't really be able to talk back to you until later, but all this input you're providing now, during these first few formative years, will add up and eventually enable him to produce the output that you seek. As a general rule, the more input the child receives, the more output he or she can eventually produce.

2. Read a lot to him in English. Reading aloud should start from as early as possible and continue, day by day, ideally until the child finally leaves home as an older teen. (I'm serious. My kids are now 16 and 13, and they can read well on their own, but I continue to read aloud to them at breakfast each day before they go to school.) Reading aloud is a very powerful way to provide language exposure and cultivate a love of books and literacy.

At the same time, also make a habit of playing a lot of children's music in English in your home, as background music, so you and Manuel can also receive continuous input through this fun and useful resource, too. The more children's songs you yourself are able to learn, through listening to music, the more songs you'll be able to sing with him when he gets a bit older.

I'm cheering for you two!