Binny is a character all children can learn something from. She is a wonder they will revel in.

An adventuresome romp, funny, full of wit and charm, Hilary McKay’s Binny series will keep 8 to 12 year-olds reading long beyond “lights-out.”
Binny Bewitched is no different, as Binny finds money and has to come to grips with using the money for her own means or finding the owner. With a detective spirit, and an unlikely partner, she sets out on the investigation.

It's the Little Bits, Between the Lines, That I Like the Most

I am a newcomer to the Binny books, but have been as charmed and delighted by them as have been any of the author's most ardent fans. The entire Cornwallis family will capture your hearts and imaginations, and every young reader should give at least one of the books a good, thorough try.

This time around, (this is the third Binny book), Binny has, in a momentary impulse, pocketed and then misplaced some money she saw sticking out of an ATM machine. Overcome by guilt she is desperate to return the money, but she hid it and can't find it and comes to fear that someone in her family or close circle has filched the filthy lucre. Because this is Binny she also suspects that the slippery woman in the holiday cottage next door is a witch, and a witch who knows her secret. So, we get a mystery and a bit of Tell-Tale Heart. Beneath that rather antic premise, though, we learn a good deal about how Binny's family has had to manage and make do in the proud but impoverished condition in which they found themselves after Binny's Dad's death. There are dozens of little exchanges and brief set pieces that drive this point home repeatedly.

And that, friends, is what I wish to mention. While there is a clear story arc here, with rising tension and a resolution and a satisfying denouement and all of the rest, the appeal, to me, of the Binny books resides in the odd little bits that are scattered about the book. A brief exchange between Binny and her sister Clem; a surprisingly perceptive comment by little James; a few comments from a teacher who sympathizes with Binny's inability to afford a school break excursion on which all the other students are going; a teasing line from Gareth; some quiet moments of conversation over a cup of tea. These snippets and glances add up to a very satisfying sense of the strength and integrity and affection that binds the Cornwallis family and their dearest friends.

So, not to put too sharp an edge on it, but these are amusing and entertaining and instructive, but also affirming and restorative tales that glow with insight and good humor. A very nice find indeed.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I found this book to be very compelling with interesting characters and an engaging plot.