Manlio Castagna

Pupil Remembers

Christmas

What if we forgot about Christmas?

In an unspecified time, in a town on the edge of the woods – Oblate – two children, Manuel and Alante, find a mysterious object covered by the snow. No one in the community knows what it is. Only Pupil, the old blind woman who lives in the forest, seems to possess the key to open the doors of the past from which that object comes.

Beautiful illustrations, like works of art.
An original and melancholic Christmas tale.
An atmosphere that brings to mind the films of Burton and Miyazaki.

Publisher: Rizzoli

Target: 8-10

Year: 2023

Author

Manlio Castagna

Screenwriter, director, author, and film critic, he spent over 20 years as part of the artistic direction of the Giffoni Film Festival.
He made his debut in children's fiction in 2018 with the bestselling Petrademone trilogy (Mondadori), translated into several languages. Since then, he has explored a wide range of genres: from the historical fantasy of La notte delle malombre and Di fuoco e seta (both longlisted for the Strega Ragazzi Award and finalists in various literary prizes), to the horror of Goodwill and Nessuno verrà a prenderti, to nonfiction with the cinema guide 116 Movies to See Before You’re 16, and the genre-bending novel Dedalo & Dharma, all the way to social noir with Barriera (all published by the Mondadori Group).
The Reincarnation of the Klun Sisters and Try Not to Sleep are his adult fiction titles.
In 2022, he made his directorial and screenwriting debut in cinema with Il viaggio degli eroi, produced by Rai Cinema and awarded with record-breaking viewership on Rai1.