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brandypainter's review against another edition
2.0
I can't believe I'm typing this about a Hilary McKay book but I found this to be boring and that the characters were disconnected from the story and each other. :(
I read an e-galley provided by the publisher at Edelweiss.
I read an e-galley provided by the publisher at Edelweiss.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
The characters from McKay's later novel, The Skylark's War, first appear here. Binny is staying in an old house in Cornwall, and, in the attic, finds handmaid butterflies and carefully printed cards, written by children 100 years earlier. Binny is struggling to fit in at a new school, and inadvertently caused the ire of popular Clare. The natural world draws her in: the butterflies and foxes on the disused train line, the herons and kestrels. She's also drawn to the children who lived in the house so long ago, and their story echoes her own. This novel felt less evocative to me than some of McKay's other works, and Binny isn't my favourite of McKay's characters, but it's still full of human warmth, humour, optimism, and beautiful descriptions of the natural world and how sustaining and moving small glimpses of the wild can be.
snazel's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic middle grade. I want to read everything by this author.
gschwabauer's review against another edition
4.0
I love the dual storyline in this novel. Characters are lovely and perfectly voiced, as is the standard for Hilary McKay.
On a second read, this one didn't work quite as well for me as Binny for Short, in large part because of the absence of Gareth. The Binny/Gareth friendship is so much more vivid and compelling and humorous than the one between Binny and Clare. I realize that McKay is trying to do something very different in this novel, but the something she is trying to do didn't feel quite as unique or as fun to read.
Still, she draws you into both worlds so well. Children act like children, not not like cherubic little delights or whiny, wailing brats. I was especially impressed with Clarry, Peter, and Rupe – so different from her usual fare, and yet each so believable and bittersweet.
This is not Hilary McKay's fault at all, but I don't understand why anyone would have selected these illustrations for the book. They don't match the story at all; they were distracting and unpleasant every time they appeared. The massive bug-eyes of the characters just look ridiculous, and the style is so overly simplistic that it looks more like a heavily stylized kindergarten picture book than a grade-school novel. Somebody should have said no.
On a second read, this one didn't work quite as well for me as Binny for Short, in large part because of the absence of Gareth. The Binny/Gareth friendship is so much more vivid and compelling and humorous than the one between Binny and Clare. I realize that McKay is trying to do something very different in this novel, but the something she is trying to do didn't feel quite as unique or as fun to read.
Still, she draws you into both worlds so well. Children act like children, not not like cherubic little delights or whiny, wailing brats. I was especially impressed with Clarry, Peter, and Rupe – so different from her usual fare, and yet each so believable and bittersweet.
This is not Hilary McKay's fault at all, but I don't understand why anyone would have selected these illustrations for the book. They don't match the story at all; they were distracting and unpleasant every time they appeared. The massive bug-eyes of the characters just look ridiculous, and the style is so overly simplistic that it looks more like a heavily stylized kindergarten picture book than a grade-school novel. Somebody should have said no.
tashrow's review against another edition
5.0
This second book in the series about Binny is another charmer. Binny has to start school in her new town now that summer is over. She doesn’t know anyone at all and the only child she has met she managed to knock into and spoil her mother’s birthday gifts while Binny was pursuing a butterfly. When a storm hits their small town, Binny and her family find that the roof of their house has caved in and they have to move to a rental house out in the country. At school, Binny is mercilessly bullied by the girl she knocked into and her friends. They call her “grockle” and make fun of the way she talks and acts. Binny finds herself taking solace in her family, helping her little brother James with his chickens. Then one of the chickens is taken by a “jagular” and Binny discovers a paw print that might lead her to figure out the puzzle of what animal took the hen. Tied together with Binny’s story is that of Clarry, a girl who lived in the house during World War I and who found herself drawn to the natural world in the same way that Binny does. It may just take the two of them together to solve the mysteries that Binny has discovered.
McKay has such a way of writing. It exudes warmth and humor. It’s rather like the cinnamon cake that appears in this book, something to be both savored and lingered over, but also one to be devoured with delight. If I could leave the house with a book like this tucked in my pocket to munch on each day, I’d be very happy indeed. The dual story lines of Binny and Clarry work particularly well. Clarry too is an intriguing character, a girl interested in an education in a time when that simply wasn’t done. Readers find out fairly soon in the book that Clarry lived to be 100 years old, but there are questions about how long others in her story lived which add to the mysteries of the book.
McKay creates characters who are their own people. There is Binny who is complicated both in the ones she loves and her own interests. She finds things on the fly and feels deeply about everything. Her younger brother James is also a delight. His way of greeting people, his vague general statements, his inquisitive nature. They all combine to one little boy with a huge personality. Clem, Binny’s older sister, has depths that are hinted at but not yet revealed. All of the characters are robust and personable. Those who seem one way upon first meeting them develop into intriguing full characters by the end of the book, and even the adults are treated this way.
Another wonderful read by the incredible Hilary McKay. I can’t wait to see what Binny gets up to next! Appropriate for ages 8-11.
McKay has such a way of writing. It exudes warmth and humor. It’s rather like the cinnamon cake that appears in this book, something to be both savored and lingered over, but also one to be devoured with delight. If I could leave the house with a book like this tucked in my pocket to munch on each day, I’d be very happy indeed. The dual story lines of Binny and Clarry work particularly well. Clarry too is an intriguing character, a girl interested in an education in a time when that simply wasn’t done. Readers find out fairly soon in the book that Clarry lived to be 100 years old, but there are questions about how long others in her story lived which add to the mysteries of the book.
McKay creates characters who are their own people. There is Binny who is complicated both in the ones she loves and her own interests. She finds things on the fly and feels deeply about everything. Her younger brother James is also a delight. His way of greeting people, his vague general statements, his inquisitive nature. They all combine to one little boy with a huge personality. Clem, Binny’s older sister, has depths that are hinted at but not yet revealed. All of the characters are robust and personable. Those who seem one way upon first meeting them develop into intriguing full characters by the end of the book, and even the adults are treated this way.
Another wonderful read by the incredible Hilary McKay. I can’t wait to see what Binny gets up to next! Appropriate for ages 8-11.
ejderwood's review against another edition
4.0
For having flashbacks, this was really good. I'm extremely prejudiced against flashbacks because I tend to think they're obnoxious and often just lazy writing. But I actually enjoyed this, although I still think it would have been better as two separate stories in two separate books. (that's just me though).
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