Feisty Rose takes center stage as the highly original Casson family faces a long, hot summer.

As usual, things are a bit chaotic. Eldest daughter Caddy is engaged to darling Michael, and she's not altogether sure she likes it. Saffy and Sarah are on a mission to find Saffy's biological father (while cultivating hearts of stone). Indigo is cautiously beginning a friendship with a reformed bully, who desperately wants to feel like part of the Casson family. Rose, while dreadfully missing Tom (whom none of them have heard from), enters into a life of petty crime, shoplifting small items until her misadventures nearly bring disaster. Through it all, Rose's single-minded determination to find Tom remains as fierce as it is hopeless. Or is it?...

Feisty Rose takes center stage as the highly original Casson family faces a long, hot summer.

As usual, things are a bit chaotic. Eldest daughter Caddy is now engaged to darling Michael, and she's not altogether sure she likes it. Saffy and Sarah are on a mission to find Saffy's biological father (while cultivating hearts of stone). Indigo is cautiosly beginning a friendship with a reformed bully, who desparately wants to feel like part of the Casson family. Rose, while missing Tom (who none of them have heard from) dreadfully, enters into a life of petty crime, shoplifting small items until her misadventures nearly bring disaster. An accidental trip to London and a visit with Rose's father lead to a startling revelation, but through it all Rose's single-minded determination to find Tom remains as fierce as it is hopeless. Oris it?

Hilary McKay has painted the fond mayhem of this delightul family with such humor, warmth, and authenticity that readers will fall in love with them all over again. Once you've visited the Casson household, you may never want to leave.

...

Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman.
Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?
Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale.
...

Cheerful mayhem carries the day in this new middle-grade novel from the author of "The Exiles". Ten-year-old Robin Brogan's life takes a turn for the interesting when a new family with five children moves next door. And when Robin, who's terrified of dogs, finds a starving, abandoned dog on the beach, it's his new neighbors who help him overcome his fears to save an animal that desperately needs him Ages 8-12. Pub: 12/97. ....

Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman.
Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?
Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale.
...

Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman.
Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?
Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale.
...

Love is in the air for the Casson family! Four hilarious, endearing tales unfold as Rose, Indigo, Saffy, and Caddy each tell their intertwining stories. Rose begins by showing how she does special with her Valentine's card for Tom in New York. Not to be outdone, Indigo has his own surprise in store for the Valentine,s Day disco at school. For her part, Saffy has an unusual date in a very, very dark graveyard, and is haunted by a balloon that almost costs her her best friend.

But it is Caddy who dares everything -- as she tells all about love at first sight when you have found the Real Thing. Unfortunately the Real Thing is not darling Michael. What is Rose going to do?...

Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman.
Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?
Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale.
...

Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman.
Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?
Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale.
...

There are discos at school several times a year, but the Valentine's Day disco is the one that everyone talks about. They only sell the tickets in pairs. You have to ask someone, or be asked by someone before you can go. Torture.

But it won't be torture if Indigo Casson's special plan for the Valentine's Day disco works. Torture is in the cards for Saffy, though, when her first boyfriend decides to take her on an unusual date to a very, very dark graveyard. At least he didn't leave her on a moor with Rose -- yet....

The twins, Ant and Perry, vegetable loving Beany, Sun Dance and their scruffy mongrel, Old Blanket, specialise in creating mayhem. They attempt to entice guests in to Mrs Brogan's Bed and Breakfast, teach Robin how to be brave, and, most importantly, help him work out how he can keep the abandoned dog he finds on the beach ......

Rose knows that nothing stays the same forever.

Still, it's hard to watch her sisters and brother growing up and moving so far ahead of her. Caddy is back, but she's not living at home. And worse -- she's broken up with Darling Michael. Saffy and Indigo are so busy, they are seldom home. With her father in London and her mother painting in the shed, Rose is often alone in the house.

Maybe that's why she agrees to her new friend Molly's crazy scheme. At least it seems crazy when Rose finds herself locked in the zoo at night with a roaring tiger. Maybe she should have been paying more attention to what Molly was saying. But on that spooky night, Rose finds out a secret that just might change everything -- and help bring her family and friends together and new life to their old house.

Hilary McKay infuses her charming characters with much love and laughter in this final visit with the delightfully daffy Casson family....