Parlor Cats

Generously quotating from poetry, nursery rhymes, and popular authors, Banks recounts the love affair between the Victorians and their cats--personified as the epitome of domestic virtue. Full-color photographs throughout.

After making a huge mess in the storeroom, Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil persuade Pete to let three stray cats live in his pizza parlor.

Nekoyama, worn out after another long day at the office, stops at a therapeutic massage parlor--only to discover that it's run by a cat! Not only that, but the cat actually does the massaging?! As the professional "meowsseur" digs soft toe beans into Nekoyama's aching muscles, his heart warms and his worries melt away. This is only the beginning, as he and other world-weary workers are about to meet the other feline professionals who have mastered pawfully cute techniques to reduce human stress.

This delightful collection brings together five short stories and eight essays on writing by Newbery Medal–winning author Nancy Willard Nancy Willard’s gift for bringing out the whimsical in all of us illuminates this memorable anthology. “ ‘Who Invented Water?’ ” celebrates the craft and magic of creating children’s books. In “Becoming a Writer,” Willard admits she dislikes giving and receiving advice. She prefers telling a story, with real-life characters ranging from members of her own family to Jane Austen, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Charles Dickens on stilts. “The Well-tempered Falsehood” explores the fabulist art of storytelling; “The Rutabaga Lamp” is a dreamy, delightful riff on how to read and write fairy tales. In an autobiographical piece, “Her Father’s House,” Erica, Theo, and their three-year-old son travel home for the funeral of Erica’s father. As the whole family gathers, the heroine is hit with an onslaught of memories, Willard style. “The Tailor Who Told the Truth” is Morgon Axel, who tells nothing but lies . . . until the day a wild boar comes into his shop. This ebook includes an introduction by Robert Pack, former director of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

If you have ever seen a show with celebrity impersonators you will love this book! In CopyCats these talented performers reveal how they came to emulate particular stars, offer a glimpse into their professional and personal lives, as well as disclose enlightening facts about this aspect of show business.