History of Hollywood in the 1940's

The magical people, or Karmidee, had been forced to live as an underclass, resulting in some very strange manifestations of magic. 10 yrs+

In the early decades of the twentieth century, almost everyone in modern theater, literature, or film knew of Otto Kahn (1867-1934), and those who read the financial press or followed the news from Wall Street could scarcely have missed his name. A partner at one of America's premier private banks, he played a leading role in reorganizing the U.S. railroad system and supporting the Allied war effort in World War I. The German-Jewish Kahn was also perhaps the most influential patron of the arts the nation has ever seen: he helped finance the Metropolitan Opera, brought the Ballets Russes to America, and bankrolled such promising young talent as poet Hart Crane, the Provincetown Players, and the editors of the Little Review. This book is the full-scale biography Kahn has long deserved. Theresa Collins chronicles Kahn's life and times and reveals his singular place at the intersection of capitalism and modernity. Drawing on research in private correspondence, congressional testimony, and other sources, she paints a fascinating portrait of the figure whose seemingly incongruous identities as benefactor and banker inspired the New York Times to dub him the "Man of Velvet and Steel."

This absurdly clever and funny graphic novel, told entirely in palindromes, is created by World Palindrome Champion Jon Agee, author of Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! Otto is having a very palindramatic day. His pet, Pip, has gone missing, and his search for the dog leads him deeper and deeper into a strange and perplexing world--full of talking owls, stacks of cats, storms and mazes, boats and trains and automobiles . . . oh my! Everything seems to be the same backward and forward, and Pip isn't sure he'll ever find his way home to Mom and Pop. But you, reader, will enjoy his Oz-like journey thoroughly.

Otto loves cars more than anything else in the world. He plays with cars, he dreams about cars, . . . he even eats cars (his favorite cereal is Wheelies). But that all changes when he awakes one morning to find that he has somehow turned into a car.Otto soon realizes that there is a downside to actually becoming his favorite thing. While the rest of his friends get to play and draw, Otto can only honk and sputter. Will Otto ever be able to switch gears and go back to being a boy?

In this marvellous story about the Karmidee, Otto travels back in time into the stormy, magical past ...

These essays explore the parameters of Wagner's rich literary and architectural creations.

One of the most versatile and original artists of the twentieth century, Otto Neumann created works of stark brutality, sumptuous beauty, and sleek simplicity in an array of media?oils, watercolors, chalk, graphite, lithographs, woodcuts, and monotypes, among others. He lived through revolutionary changes in the art world of prewar and postwar Germany, and drew inspiration from his contemporaries and predecessors, as well as from sources literary and deeply personal. Today, Neumann is best known for his subtly hued woodcuts and monotypes of human, animal, and abstract forms, created in the last twenty-five years of his life. But, in addition to the range shown in these brilliant pieces, a critical part of the artist's evolution is displayed in his other, earlier works: his series of graphic illustrations based on Dante's Divine Comedy; his rich, colorful portraits in oil and watercolor; the frightening grotesques he created during Germany's calamitous late 1920s; his C?zanne-inspired, watercolor still lifes; and his linoleum prints based on Edvard Munch's creation myth, Alpha and Omega. Otto Neumann: His Life and Work brings to light the career of a significant, overlooked artist and places his work within the proper context of great twentieth-century art. Institutions Owning Works by Otto Neumann Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Art, Goethe Institute, Museum of Modern Art ? New York, Portland Art Museum, Rose Art Museum, Tampa Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Art.

This is an autobiographical tale of a teddy bear named Otto. Otto is a German-born teddy bear. His first memories are of being stitched together and being given to David, a Jewish boy living in Germany before WWII. David and his best-friend Oskar always play with Otto, using him for pranks, games and even teaching him to type on a typewriter. Life is a lot of fun for the Otto. However, one day, David starts to wear a yellow star on his jacket. He and his parents are soon carted away by men in leather coats and uniforms. David decides to give his dear teddy bear to Oskar. Many lonely days pass for Oskar and Otto. But even gloomier days soon arrive when Osakar's father is drafted into the army and the bombings start. One day, a sudden explosion sends Otto flying through the air and into the middle a raging battle-field. The teddy bear is spotted by a soldier, but the moment the soldier picks Otto up, they are both shot through the chest. Otto and the soldier, an American G.I., are taken away to a hospital. In hospital, the soldier keeps Otto by his side. When he recovers, he pins a medal on Otto's chest, saying that Otto saved his life, taking the brunt of the bullet. The story makes papers and Otto becomes a mascot of the soldier's regiment. The teddy bear is then taken to America and is given to a sweet girl called Jasmin, the soldier's daughter. But Otto's new home and happiness is once again brutally ended when he is snatched away by mean and violent street urchins, who hit and trample on him and throw him into a bin. Otto is then picked up by an antiques dealer and taken to his shop. Years and years go by, until one rainy evening, when a bulky man stops and carefully examines the shop window. The man recognizes the bear instantly buys him. It is Oskar, Otto's old friend. The story of Oskar, a German tourist and survivor of the war finding his teddy bear in America soon makes the papers. And the day after Otto's picture appears in the paper, Oskar's telephone rings: it is his old friend David. And so, the three friends finally reunite, sharing the sorrows and pains of war and living a peaceful and happy life together. Otto now keeps himself busy, typing the story of his life on David's typewriter. Children will become attached to this loving, innocent protagonist, and will naturally be interested in his life story. Tomi Ungerer deals with one of the darkest chapters of history and pulls off the challenge admirably. This tale will prompt reflection and important questions without causing undue fear.