Hilary McKay

Eleven-year-old Binny struggles to cope with her father's death and the loss of her beloved dog while she adjusts to a new home that might be haunted by her horrible Aunt Violet.

After learning that she was adopted, thirteen-year-old Saffron's relationship with her eccentric, artistic family changes, until they help her go back to Italy where she was born to find a special momento of her past.

""When Lulu rescues a wild hedgehog in a storm, she knows she can't keep it as a pet--it wants to roam free. So she and her cousin Mellie come up with the neighborhood Hedgehog Club to keep it safe"--Provided by publisher"--

Seven-year-old Lulu and her cousin think their vacation house is the most perfect place ever until they find a trouble-prone, stray dog living on the beach.

After twelve-year-old Binny hides and then loses the money she found in the ATM, she asks her best frenemy Gareth to help her find the missing money so she can return it to the bank without attracting the notice of her neighbor, whom Binny believes is a witch putting spells on Binny and her family.

"Seven-year-old Lulu adopts a hamster and must keep it a secret from her grandmother when she and her cousin Mellie spend the night"--

While recovering from chicken pox, Robin and his friends are drawn into his mother's story about the adventures she and her friends had years ago with an unusual girl who mysteriously appeared on the nearby beach.

Although she is afraid, Sophie is determined to confront the dragon that she thinks she hears downstairs at night.

Spurred on by his youngest sister, Rose, twelve-year-old Indigo sticks up for himself and an American boy who has replaced him as the primary target of the school bullies.

In 1902 England, Clarry and Peter struggle with the challenges of living with an indifferent father, but the summers they spend in Cornwall with their grandparents and cousin Rupert provide much needed comfort, and in the years that follow Clarry looks back on those leisurely days to help her cope with the trying times of World War I and its aftermath.