Here’s a 1945 Russian animated feature about a Cossack who is traveling to deliver a letter to the Tsarina in St. Petersburg. The letter is stolen by a devil and the Cossack goes into hell to retrieve it. It’s a dark and beautiful film with a good sense of humor and wonderful character animation. The backgrounds are mysterious and I have seldom seen nighttime so perfectly depicted. It’s based on a story by Nikolai Gogol and was directed by the Brumberg sisters and Lamis Bredis.
Click the Continue reading link for parts 2, 3, and 4.
A graduate of Ryerson Journalism, Mike Sauve has written for The National Post, The Toronto International Film Festival Group, Exclaim Magazine and other publications. His fiction has appeared in the humor journal Feathertale. His National Post features reveal a sardonic prose style that is unique and inviting.
In the Shade of the Allan Gardens Greenhouse
In the late 19th century George Street “caught the refined tone”* of Toronto’s noblest family mansions on neighboring Jarvis Street. Today it rots and rages with the bitter pulse of strong beer and crack cocaine. Inside Seton House, called Satan House by those in the know, live 600 homeless men. It’s an alternate universe created by the synthetic horror of cheap crack and all the foul additives irresponsibly mixed in. It’s the most dangerous street in Toronto according to police.
So many are high the air is charged with bizarre energy, almost always negative, excluding those heart-wrenching seconds after a crack-blast when euphoric peace blooms for a few seconds before vanishing like it was never there.
Our lone character, Robinson Crusoe, succeeds in raising his herd of goats and learns to use them for meat, milk and cheese. But his shocking discovery on a beach shakes his foundation and fills him with dread.
This book contains pirate battles, violence and death. Please use your judgment before playing for very young children.
Here’s a free podcast of our fantastic pirate adventure novel written for young readers. It’s got hidden scrolls, time travel, ships, battles, navigation, gold, islands, jungles and helicopters in it.
Description:
Young Jack Spencer sees his father’s boat-building business destroyed by a powerful land developer. Then Jack unearths three ancient scrolls that propel him on a dangerous adventure through time in search of a pirate treasure.
When Jack finds himself aboard the pirate ship Revenge with Captain Jameson’s crew, he enters a life or death world of ship battles, jungle islands, prison escapes, gold, and treachery.
Set during the golden age of Caribbean piracy, Pirate Jack combines rollicking adventure with the moving story of a boy’s love for his father and a courageous effort to save a way of life.
This is one of the great gifts from Italy to the children of the world. Carlo Collodi’s 1883 masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is the story of the wooden marionette who desperately wants to be a real boy. His adventures are full of mischief, wonder, sadness, joy, treachery, danger and all the exuberant life of a real Italian boy. This is the English translation by Carol Della Chiesa.
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Per l’Italia! More of our story!