This special bundle unites two books, one of short stories and one novel, by one of Canada’s premier short fiction writers. The Sky Is Falling deftly intertwines themes of first love, sexual confusion, and the dread of nuclear disaster with the comical infighting of a cast of well-meaning political activists, and the timelessness of the great Russian classics. A story for our own age of paranoia and terror, Caroline Adderson’s witty, accomplished novel returns the reader to another fearful era, when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation and the end of world seemed inevitable. Pleased to Meet You collects nine razor-sharp stories. Stylistically varied and linguistically confident, these are compulsively readable stories that plumb the complexities of the human heart. A dying Finn, a philandering photographer recovering from an emergency splenectomy, a young woman heavy with an hysterical pregnancy - these are just some of the surprising characters that people these pages.

The delightful adventures of a visually impaired barn cat and his annoying flea, as they set off to experience the world and find themselves participants in some of the most remarkable events of the early twentieth century. Pudding Tat is born on the Willoughby Farm in 1901 — just another one of Mother Tat’s kittens. But it turns out that Pudding is anything but ordinary. He is pure white with pink eyes that, though beautiful, do not see well, and hearing that is unusually acute. He finds himself drawn to the sweet sounds of the world around him — the pattering heartbeat of a nearby mouse, the musical tinkling of a distant stream. Soon the sounds of adventure call to Pudding, too. But before he can strike out into the wide world on his own, he hears a voice — coming from right inside his own ear. A flea has claimed Pudding as his host. The bossy parasite demands that Pudding take him away from the lowly barn and the drunken singing of his fellow fleas. He doesn’t want adventure but a finer life — one where he can enjoy a warm bed and blood flavored not with mice, but with beef tenderloin and cream. Fortunately for this mismatched pair, the world is an extremely interesting place in 1901. Over the next decade and a half, Pudding and his flea find themselves helping to make history — a journey over Niagara Falls in a barrel, a visit to the Pan-American Exposition on the day President McKinley is shot, a luxurious stay in Manhattan with songwriter Vincent Bryan, a terrifying trip on the airship America, and a voyage on the ill-fated Titanic. Through each narrow escape, the call to adventure for the cat, and luxury for his disgruntled flea, beckons them on, right to the devastation of a World War I battlefield. Then Pudding is filled with a new longing, one that brings him, with his flea’s help now, full circle and back home. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

After a family adopts a dog from a local shelter, they cannot understand why he doesn't respond to commands, until a chance encounter in the dog park reveals that their new dog only understands Chinese.

At last, it's Jasper John Dooley's turn to be Star of the Week at school. Unfortunately, nothing turns out as planned. His Show and Tell falls flat. A new baby at his friend Ori's house steals his spotlight. And worst of all, the new baby has only-child Jasper wondering if his own family is too small. When Jasper decides to build himself a brother (named Earl) out of wood, Earl's schoolyard shenanigans send Jasper to the principal's office! But with a little help from family and friends, things turn around for Jasper. And by the time Friday arrives, he is once again sure that he has what it takes to be a star. Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week is the first in a series of chapter books featuring a charismatic and funny central character. An only child with active, loving parents (and a most impressive lint collection), Jasper John Dooley is a true original.

Shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, the CLA Book of the Year for Children Award, and selected as an OLA Best Bet for 2012 a poignant and gently funny middle - grade novel about two maybe orphans and their unlikely friendship with a cranky old neighbor. Set in Vancouver and the B.C. wilderness, this is a book that reflects Caroline Adderson's many writerly strengths - her ''wit and a facility for dialogue, good pacing and a brisk, clean prose style'' ("Globe and Mail"), her ''close observation of telling details'' ("Quill & Quire") and her ability to ''celebrate a child's imagination in a realistically humorous way'' ("Canadian Materials").

Isabel loves Jasper, and it’s making life complicated. He just wants to play knights and dragons with Ori and Leon, but Isabel makes him play babies and tries to set up their wedding. The only good thing about Isabel is the trampoline at her house. But will the highs of their trampoline playdates be enough to cure Jasper’s girl-itis? Jasper John Dooley: NOT in Love is the third in a series of chapter books featuring a charismatic and funny central character. An only child with active, loving parents (and a most impressive lint collection), Jasper John Dooley is a true original.

Jasper John Dooley's beloved Nan is leaving on a cruise for a whole week! He feels so pththth. All he can think about is Nan missing out on their Wednesday card game, and whether it's raining where she is, too, and if she will ever come back. But each day something happens, from a stapling mishap to a hamster escape, and Jasper realizes that waiting for someone to return from an adventure takes forever ... unless you're having an adventure, too. Jasper John Dooley: Left BEhind is the second in a series of chapter books featuring a charismatic and funny central character. An only child with active, loving parents (and a most impressive lint collection), Jasper John Dooley is a true original. AGES: 7-10 AUTHOR: Caroline Adderson lives with her husband, her dog and the son who lied to her when he said he would always be seven. Ben Clanton is an up-and-coming author-illustrator who describes himself as a "story scribbler, picture squiggler, book aficionado, child advocate, dragon tamer and avid sock wearer." Vote for Me! is the first book he has both written and illustrated.