An enthralling and enchanting collection of short stories from the bestselling author of Chocolat and The Strawberry Thief... Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Kate Mosse as well as readers of Eve Chase and Stacey Halls. 'A vibrant tombola of stories...' -- Time Out 'Strongly plotted and written in registers that are variously comical, sad and surreal...' - Independent 'A jewel of a book' -- ***** Reader review 'Sublime and touching' -- ***** Reader review 'Unputdownable' -- ***** Reader review 'Compelling - you can lose yourself one story at a time' -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************************** Stories are like Russian dolls; open them up, and in each one you'll find another story. Come to the house where it is Christmas all year round; meet the ghost who lives on a Twitter timeline; be spooked by a newborn baby created with sugar, spice and lashings of cake. Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that showcases Joanne Harris's exceptional talent as a teller of tales, a spinner of yarns. Sensuous, mischievous, uproarious and wry, here are tales that combine the everyday with the unexpected; wild fantasy with bittersweet reality.

Two children sitting at home on a rainy day are visited by the cat who shows them some tricks and games.

After winding a large ball of string, a young boy has fun finding ways of using it.

Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that showcases Joanne Harris' exceptional talent as a teller of tales, a spinner of yarns. Come to the house where it is Christmas all year round; meet the ghost who lives on a Twitter timeline; be spooked by a newborn baby created with sugar, spice and lashings of cake. Worry for a young girl in the Congo who rides the rapids to earn a crust of bread; and spy on Norse gods battling each other for survival in modern Manhattan. In her first collection since Jigs & Reels, let Joanne Harris ensnare and delight you with the variety and inventiveness of her storytelling.

Join the Cat in the Hat as he explains how to measure circles and calculate pi in this perfect choice for Pi Day celebrations and nurturing a love of math and numbers! The Cat in the Hat makes calculating pi—one of the most fascinating numbers in mathematics—as easy as pie! Using a piece of string and two sticks, the Cat first shows beginning readers how to draw a perfect circle. Then, using a can and a piece of ribbon, he shows how to measure a circle's circumference and diameter, and to use those measurements to calculate pi. Also included is information about the history of measurement and famous Pi Pioneers! Written in simple rhyme, Happy Pi Day is a natural choice for celebrating Pi Day (held annually on March 14), and for nurturing a child's interest in math. Fans of the hit PBS show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! will be delighted at this new addition to the Learning Library series.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Martin Dressler—hailed by The New Yorker as “a virtuoso of waking dreams”—comes a dazzling collection of darkly comic stories united by their obsession with obsession. "Remarkable ... Not just brilliant but prescient." —The New York Times Book Review In Dangerous Laughter, Steven Millhauser transports us to unknown universes that uncannily resemble our own. The collection is divided into three parts that fit seamlessly together as a whole. It opens with a bang, as “Cat ’n’ Mouse” reimagines the deadly ritual between cartoon rivals in a comedy of dynamite and anvils—a masterly prologue that sets the stage for the alluring, very grown-up twists that follow. Part one, “Vanishing Acts,” features stories of risk and escape: a lonely woman disappears without a trace; a high school boy becomes entangled with his best friend’s troubled sister; and a group of teenagers play a treacherous game that pushes them deep into “the kingdom of forbidden things.” Excess reigns in the vivid, haunting places of Part two’s “Impossible Architectures,” where domes enclose whole cities, and a king’s master miniaturist creates objects so tiny that soon his entire world is invisible. Finally, “Heretical Histories” presents startling alternatives to the remembered past. “A Precursor of the Cinema” proposes a new, enigmatic form of illusion. And in the astonishing “The Wizard of West Orange” a famous inventor sets out to simulate the sense of touch—but success brings disturbing consequences. Sensual, mysterious, Dangerous Laughter is a mesmerizing journey through brilliantly realized labyrinths of mortal pleasures that stretch the boundaries of the ordinary world to their limits—and occasionally beyond.