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| Publisher's Hardcover ©2015 | -- |
| Paperback ©2016 | -- |
The second installment of McKay's Binny series finds the impulsive and dreamy 12-year-old heroine at a new school and immediately off to a horrible start, quickly becoming the target of a bullying campaign led by her classmate Clare. The disasters begin to pile up when Binny's family is forced to move into a remote cottage after their home is damaged in a storm, and Binny's horror e cottage's owner turns out to be Clare's mother. Binny's drama, hilariously and sensitively told by McKay, is woven with the story of three cousins who summered in the same cottage shortly before and during WWI. As Binny investigates the artifacts they left behind, she gains valuable insight and self-awareness about her part in her own misfortunes. Fans of the first novel will be pleased at the return of Binny's best friend, Gareth, with whom she shares custody of her beloved dog, Max. Well-rounded characterizations of Binny's family and friends add to this satisfying reading experience.
School Library Journal (Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)Gr 4-6 Engaging and earnest 11-year-old Binny returns in a welcome sequel to Binny for Short (S. &; S., 2013). It's the end of summer in Cornwall, and Binny's status as the bullied new girl at school is countered by her excitement about the possibility that a strange, exotic wild animal resides in the beautiful and untamed moor around their rented house. McKay alternates Binny's tale with the story of three kids living in the house in the 1910s and their interest in the collection and classification of natural specimens; the two eventually tie together. As always with McKay, the warmth and sweetness of Binny's family shine almost brighter than the excitable protagonist, and the side characters are irresistible. This title would work as a standalone, although the author's breezy writing, sheer number of characters, and habit of assuming that readers can remember who everyone is just by their names can make things confusing at times. But Binny is wonderful to spend time with, and putting down the book is like leaving a wonderfully comforting, very British setting filled with good friends. VERDICT Hand this to lovers of Jeanne Birdsall's "Penderwicks" series (Knopf). Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
Starred Review Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
ALA Booklist
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
School Library Journal (Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Chapter One
September the first, and the sort of burglar wind that plucked litter from trash cans and petals from flowers and balls from toddlers and anything else it fancied. The market stalls packed up early and the pigeons all vanished and people walked slightly sideways and screwed up their eyes.
* * *
Binny, aged twelve, reluctant owner of a dark purple school blazer that looked (though it wasn’t) almost like new, was in town with Clem, her seventeen-year-old sister.
It was the last day of the summer break. The next day would be school. Binny so much did not want this to be true that she was busy in her head rewriting the future. She told the improved version to herself like a story.
Lightning zipped . . . zipped or unzipped? Lightning unzipped the sky straight above the Staff Room where all the teachers had rushed to the windows. Not one person escaped the shattering white blast . . . Not cruel, decided Binny. Instant. Painless, probably. And who would want to be a teacher anyway?
Moments later, the whole school was a great pile of smoldering emb . . .
A star-shaped brightness interrupted Binny, a glowing painted airiness, a butterfly.
Lemon yellow, etched with black. Lapis blue edging on the lower wings, each set with a dusty ruby. Caught and lifted on the air.
It was so different from any butterfly that Binny had ever seen before, so unexpected and so lovely, that she dropped her bag to race after it for a closer look.
“Binny!” screeched Clem.
“Oh!” cried Binny, dodging the traffic but colliding with a passerby. “Oh! Oh, stay!”
It didn’t stay. It vanished over the high church wall, gone between one moment and the next, and Binny tumbled back to earth and for the first time saw the results of her collision. A smashed box lay in the gutter, the pavement was scattered with broken flowers, and a voice was shrieking, “LOOK what you’ve done! Look!”
Excerpted from Binny in Secret by Hilary McKay
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
School has started, and secrets and adventures await Binny and her family in this delightful novel which Horn Book called “a vigorous blend of screwball comedy and heartfelt emotion” in a starred review.
School has started, and Binny can’t stand it. She has a horrid hand-me-down uniform and the kids make fun of her “posh” city accent.
Then a storm damages the roof of their home, and Binny, her sensible older sister Clem, and her rambunctious brother James (and chickens) must move to a rental home out in the country. Then one of James’s beloved chickens vanishes. What kind of creature is lurking in the undergrowth? And does it need Binny’s protection?
Feisty, fiercely loywal, and totally charming, Binny will have readers rooting for her through every twist and turn of this surprising and hilariously moving tale.