"The Cat Who Read the Mail" sixteen amazing stories about our mysterious bond with animals Can a dog understand the grief and loss of 9/11? Can a cat expose a cheating husband? Can a research dog let his rescuer know he wants to be called 'Rexy"? Absolutely! And here are the stories to prove it. These are accounts of extraordinary interactions between people and pets. Stories that surprise, perplex and move us. But The Cat Who Read the Mail is not simply another collection of 'amazing" animal stories. Instead, animal writer and columnist Elinor Donahue explores the interaction between people and pets when it moves beyond amazing and becomes inexplicable, mysterious, profound. She's interviewed dozens of ordinary people who have anything but ordinary stories to tell. Here, told in a lively, journalistic style, are the most compelling encounters with the unexpected through an animal. Samson the cat began chewing and ripping the mail - selecting only the mail addressed to the husband of the house. He'd then deposit the remains at the front door where the wife would see it when she came home. Samson was on to something. Annie, the 12-pound therapy dog at Ground Zero, gathered the gazes of a circle of bereaved men a few days after 9/11 - whereupon each of them spilled out, one by one, whom they lost there. 'My mother." 'My brother." 'My sister." When Malibu the dog died, her housemate cat, Whip, watched in fascination -- and the next day took on Malibu's daily habits, including opening the kitchen cabinets to forage for dog treats. While each story in this entertaining and fast-reading book stands on its own, the narratives gather momentum as acollection, suggesting there is more mystery and meaning here than our limited vantage can account for. However, Donahue does not attempt to explain or interpret. She simply showcases these special pets and the ordinary people who have glimpsed the extraordinary because of them. The Cat Who Read the Mail offers 16 stories that, in quick and glancing style, suggest that animals are in on the play of the universe in ways beyond our imagining. Still, each episode is real and occurred in the ordinary life of a grounded human being. The people in these stories never expected or sought the unexplainable event they experienced. Donahue has interviewed each of these individuals in depth, selecting the most compelling stories. Like Joel, the optometrist who dealt only in rational fact. He wasn't expecting that an eerie howl from the cat would precede the apparition of Baxter, his recently deceased dog. And a renowned dog trainer found that indeed it matters what you call your dog. When it hears the name it really wants, like 'Jazz," the animal will respond far more readily than when the moniker is a misfit, like 'Daisy." Though not sentimental heart warmers, these are stories for the good. That is their power. These occurrences can't be explained-and because of that they make their way into the crevices in our thinking. They take us to the moment of inswept breath-the aha! that catches us unaware. And they're fun to read!

A tale of how 37 cats were trained to deliver mail in Liège, Belgium.

Nowadays it's no big deal or a girl to travel seventy-five miles. But when Charlotte May Pierstorff wanted to cross seventy-five miles of Idaho mountains to see her grandma in 1914, it was a very big deal indeed. There was no highway except the railroad, and a train ticket would have cost her parents a full day's pay. Here is the true story of how May got to visit her grandma, thanks to her won spunk, her father's ingenuity, and the U.S. mail. 00-01 CA Young Reader Medal Masterlist and 01 Colorado Children's Book Award (Pic. Bk Cat.)

She thought, brightly, This is the worst life decision I have ever made! And she marvelled at herself for a while, at the mystery of this person who’d just done this bizarre, inexplicable thing. Margot meets Robert. They exchange numbers. They text, flirt and eventually have sex – the type of sex you attempt to forget. How could one date go so wrong? Everything that takes place in Cat Person happens to countless people every day. But Cat Person is not an everyday story. In less than a week, Kristen Roupenian’s New Yorker debut became the most read and shared short story in their website’s history. This is the bad date that went viral. This is the conversation we’re all having. This gift edition contains photographs by celebrated photographer Elinor Carucci, who was commissioned by the New Yorker to capture the image that accompanied Kristen Roupenian’s Cat Person when it appeared in the magazine. You Know You Want This, Kristen Roupenian’s debut collection, will be published in February 2019.

This sweet picture book shares the warmth that acts of kindness can bring when a wayward letter proclaiming "I love you" is received by lonely Mr. Cat. A perfect option for elementary schoolers and their communities with a beautiful social-emotional lesson. Curmudgeonly Mr. Cat is a withdrawn sourpuss--until he receives a suprise letter. Believing that someone out there loves him, curiosity sends him out into his community to investigate who it could be. Through different acts of kindness, Mr. Cat learns that he isn’t as alone as he thought as he meets new friends. A perfect social-emotional learning book as children learn about how the warmth of love can ripple out from one act of kindness.

Don't miss the first and bestselling book in the beloved Pete the Cat series! Pete the Cat goes walking down the street wearing his brand-new white shoes. Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other big messes! But no matter what color his shoes are, Pete keeps movin' and groovin' and singing his song...because it's all good. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes asks the reader questions about the colors of different foods and objects—kids love to interact with the story. The fun never stops—download the free groovin’ song. Don't miss Pete's other adventures, including Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses, Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues, Pete the Cat and the New Guy, Pete the Cat and the Cool Cat Boogie, Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes, Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party, and Pete the Cat: Crayons Rock!

With humor and depth, letter carrier Wyckoff reveals the rhythms, secrets, and surprises of the thriving community that comprises his postal route.