(1) 4-6 McKay plunges us back into the doings of the Penrose family (Love to Everyone, rev. 11/18), this time exploring the lives of the generation born between the world wars. The story spans almost twenty years as we move between Kate in Oxford, Ruby in Plymouth (Clarry's goddaughters, both), and two German boys in Berlin--best friends Erik and Hans--as they deal with siblings and families, grapple with their own fears and desires, and meet the challenges of drastically changing times as World War II descends. McKay has a positive genius for the tight dovetail of character, incident, and plot: as these lives become entwined, that genius is everywhere at work--from the novel's first sentence ("One summer, when he was ten years old, Erik became famous for buying dead flies") to Ruby's distress about her facial birthmarks, to the story's moving, satisfying conclusion. Precise, evocative detail ("Every leaf was heavy with dew, and the flowers hung like wet laundry") gives this a persistent, vivid freshness, but even more fresh and compelling is McKay's compassionate, sometimes humorous, take on human character and her understanding of youthful feelings.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(1) 4-6 Everything changes for eleven-year-old North Londoner Abigail when her widower father marries Polly, mother of Max and Louis, and her beloved Granny Grace returns to Jamaica. Feeling both isolated and crowded at the same time in this new life, Abi finds respite in books and in the ethereal ivy-covered house where the newly configured family decides to move. Though not a practical choice, the house has "a lantern straight out of Narnia" by the door, and the storybook details prove irresistible. "Inside, the air smelt of long ago. The stairs were the sort you fly down in dreams. The colored glass in the hall windows seemed full of accumulated sunlight." Disturbingly, however, when Abi becomes deeply absorbed in a book, remnants of the story she is reading materialize inside the house--a shell, a leaf, pages damp with saltwater. As each chapter focuses on the internal concerns of one of the three now-siblings, it becomes clear that all the children are struggling to find their place in their new circumstances. When Louis, the youngest, unknowingly conjures up a creature that may threaten his safety, Abi and Max must unite to get the magic back under control. Throughout this deftly told story, McKay (the Casson Family series, beginning with Saffy's Angel, rev. 7/02; Love to Everyone, rev. 11/18) creates a captivating world to fall into, full of honesty and humor. The warm but complicated relationships form a comforting space for readers to explore the power one can find in home, family, and books--especially this one.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Gibb. McKay retells ten familiar fairy tales from the European tradition. Within the context of varied tellers and points of view, the gist of the classic stories remains largely intact, but McKay brings her own warm, insightful humor into the magical world. Earnest, scruffy, brave, greedy, or hard-working, her child characters are earthy and realistic, with Gibb's delicate silhouette illustrations casting a sparkle of glamour over them.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(1) 4-6 Clarry, her brother Peter, and their beloved cousin Rupert were introduced in a WWI London–set Binny in Secret subplot; here, McKay gives us their full story. When soldier Rupert is declared MIA, "presumed dead," Clarry sets off to find him. This exceptional novel is both broad and deep, sketching the scope of the Western Front but drawing us into Clarry's heart and mind as she valiantly grows up. Bib.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Tony Ross. McKay continues to display her extraordinary gifts (for language, nuance, humor; for capturing human nature and family dynamics) in this third book (Binny for Short; Binny in Secret). Binny finds a stack of twenty-pound notes and impulsively pockets the lot. It seems like an answer to her bankrupt family's prayers, but instead a miserable seven days follow. The whirlwind-paced plot folds in big ideas for readers to think about.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Micah Player. After accidentally making an enemy of new classmate Clare, twelve-year-old Binny is remorselessly bullied at school. Clare, also an animal lover, eventually becomes a kindred spirit; the two team up to save a rare lynx. As in Binny for Short, alternating chapters offer a complementary narrative. As connections between the stories grow, McKay enthralls readers with her blend of screwball comedy and heartfelt emotion.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2015

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. On the "wettest day in sixty-four years" Lulu rescues a small, nearly drowned hedgehog. Realizing that it should not be kept caged, she begins a Hedgehog Club and negotiates with the neighbors to provide a safe enclosed space spanning all of their gardens. Humorous black-and-white spot illustrations perfectly match this winning story of friendship, supportive parents, and child initiative.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. In her sixth outing, Lulu takes in another animal in need, this time an underappreciated pet hamster named Ratty. Nervous to leave Ratty behind, Lulu and best friend/cousin Mellie smuggle him along on an overnight visit to their grandmother's house--despite knowing a rodent won't be welcome. "Oh, no" foreshadowing, humorous details, and frequent spot art keep the action moving at a spirited pace.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. Animal-loving Lulu is excited to spy a rabbit hutch among her new neighbor's things. But Arthur sees pet ownership not as a joy but as a chore (although one he dutifully performs). So Lulu and her BFF/cousin Mellie hatch a plan to turn Arthur from pet-tolerator into pet-lover. This beginning chapter book features generous spot art, natural language, and an engaging story.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2014

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Micah Player. Eleven-year-old Binny, her sister, brother, and mum move into a seaside cottage left to them by (reviled-by-Binny) Aunty Violet. Gareth, the boy next door, becomes Binny's best frenemy, and their final adventure of the summer nearly ends in catastrophe. McKay's masterful control of the mayhem is ingenious. The cartoony art may smooth the way for younger middle-graders challenged by the book's time shifts.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2014

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. This second appearance of Lulu and her cousin Mellie (Lulu and the Duck in the Park) allows readers more insight into the girls and their friendship when they go on holiday with Lulu's family to a seaside cottage. Along with the novel's abundance of dialogue, pen-and-ink illustrations show setting, characterization, and important action scenes, giving plenty of help for beginning chapter book readers.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. Grandmother Nan is taking care of Lulu and her cousin Mellie, and they're all staying at Lulu's house so they can tend to her many rescued pets. When kindhearted Lulu finds a large cat on her doorstep, there's a problem: Nan is not a cat person. Gentle humor and deft characterization add up to another winning entry in this fine series.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(2) 4-6 Readers of Saffy's Angel and its sequels will happily realize that this is a prequel: a visit to the time when Caddy was twelve, in one of the rare periods when Bill Casson was an on-site dad. McKay addresses friendship troubles, an eating disorder, a first boyfriend, a near-death experience, and a pony, all handled with her characteristic vertiginous point-of-view changes and running jokes.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. Bringing outside animals into Lulu's class is verboten. But when Class Three witnesses two dogs destroy ducks' nests, Lulu keeps the remaining egg safe, and it begins to hatch--while at school. Animal-loving Lulu's dilemma rings true, and no-nonsense Mrs. Holiday's speech is humorously natural. Though all ends well in this fine beginning chapter book, gratifyingly the resolution is not pat.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Nick Maland. In this "sequel" to A Little Princess, McKay makes a valiant effort to set her book in the same black-and-white universe as Burnett's, but soon we're happily inhabiting McKayland, where everyone is human and therefore sympathetic. Although written out of love for a favorite classic, this book is less for Little Princess fans and more for devotees of the openhearted, endlessly forgiving McKay.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2010

(1) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Rose, the most off-center member of the Casson family, is the emotional heart of this fifth and final book about them. The beautifully orchestrated plot includes spillover issues from previous books, new messy relationships, triumphs, and pleasures, and two startling surprises. McKay delights us once again with her hilarious disaster scenes, metafictional cheek, and unsentimental celebration of the virtue of kindness.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2008

(1) 4-6 In this third book, Saffron and her pal Sarah go on a search for the identity of Saffy's biological father; and Rose, pining for her American friend Tom, takes up shoplifting. Without a single Hallmark moment, McKay limns the nature of love in all its variety and hope. This is exemplary comic writing--buoyant, perceptive, subversive, and trailing a whiff of melancholy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2005

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Harvey. Every night, Sophie thinks she hears a dragon downstairs in her living room, but when she creeps down to catch him--wearing her suit of armor or her firefighter gear or her princess dress--there's never anything there. Gently rhythmic text and cozy watercolors depict a girl gradually working through her fear and happily discovering the real source of the noise.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(1) 4-6 Readers of Saffy's Angel will have already met the colorful Casson family, a gang of four sparklingly individual children burdened with not one but two artist parents. The focus here is on Indigo and his new friend Tom, an American boy temporarily in Britain. McKay tackles difficult emotional subjects here (the realignment of families, jealousy, violence) but with never a shard of earnestness or solemnity.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(1) PS Illustrated by Amanda Harvey. When Santa comes to Bella's preschool without reindeer, a sleigh, snow, or a present for her cat, Bella's enormous disappointment is met with her mother's assurance that Christmas is just beginning. The rest of the book is a catalog of the cheery rituals and activities Bella's family performs in preparation. The universal story is engagingly told, and the illustrations capture the pleasures of the holiday.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2002