This magical collection of eight gloriously imaginative stories is ideal for bedtime reading. These stories contain a wealth of wonderful characters and ideas, all with the colorful, dreamlike quality of the very best fairy tales. Illustrations.

Reproduction of the original: The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories by Mary de Morgan

Two favorite thrillers from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Pike are now available in one bone-chilling collection. When Alison first got the chain letter signed “Your Caretaker,” she thought it was a sick joke. But then it became clear that someone, somewhere knows about that awful night when she and six friends committed an unthinkable crime. And now that person is determined to make them pay. One by the one, the chain letter comes to each of them, demanding dangerous, impossible deeds. No one wants to believe that this nightmare is really happening, but then the accidents start. And the deaths. Finding the truth behind the stalker’s identity seems to be the only option, but even that might not be enough. The Caretaker has a prodigy who is even more frightening than the first, and this time he wants more than retribution. He’s out for blood.

Cheese! The smiley face we accept as a universal sign of happiness belies the twists and downturns of not-quite-everyday life. Through these witty, visceral short stories, Deryck Whittaker takes us on a bittersweet journey across the globe, introducing a set of characters at odds with themselves and the times. In locations as disparate as Norway, Mali and Argentina, the jungle of the art world, the good are generally rewarded, while the boorish and greedy receive their comeuppance. Sometimes cautionary, often hilarious, the stories may end (or begin) with murder, indulge in love and lust, or describe in exquisite detail moments of apparent ordinariness. Throughout Cheese and Other Stories Whittaker’s elegant wordplay and acute observations of the human condition are superb.