Binny and her lively family are renting a house on the edge of town while their own house undergoes repairs. Binny’s present-day story—of finding treasures in the attic and pawprints in the nearby wilds that hint at a mysterious creature, and of tribulations with classmate and new neighbor Clare—alternates with a story set in the early 20th century. Clarry, her brother Pete, and their cousin Rupert spend summers with their grandparents in the country. Rupe, a teenager, has less and less time for exploring as he gets older. Pete is desperate to avoid boarding school, while Clarry longs to study science, which her father considers unladylike. In the present, Binny’s attic discoveries make her jump to conclusions about Clarry—a girl who dared to pin butterflies to a board. But the story set in the past makes clear her conclusions are wrong, just as Binny’s initial thoughts about Clare’s mother, from whom they are renting, and Clare herself, turn out to be based largely on an impulse to judge (although Clare is far from kind early on). Binny eventually realizes that some of Clare’s meanness is because she, too, desperately wants to protect the mysterious creature—which turns out to be a lynx. Effortless to read, with skilled and delightful characterizations and a satisfying level of depth, Hilary McKay proves once again she’s a master at both humor and heart in this follow-up to Binny for Short. (Ages 8–12)

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.