BINNIE LATCHES ON

The author of Town Has a Circus here offers a pat on the back for those in the throes of pre-adolescent broodings on the relation of self to family and the world in general. Binnie Horne, next to the youngest of the four Horne children, felt she didn't belong- in the activities of her older brother and sister, in the popularity of other girls and in the good graces of the family. Arising from a mistaken interpretation of early discrimination when she was not allowed privileges above her age, Binnie's mound of self-pity grew and grew, developing offshoots of desperate bids for attention from her beloved family. However, Binnie's ""orneriness"" remained misunderstood and Binnie, convinced that she was ""nothing"" was a very miserable little girl. She was crestfallen at lovely Gretchen's popularity, crept away from her guests at her own birthday party, and mulled over her lot. But at last Binnie ""latched on"", when she developed an interest outside herself, and produced a neighborhood newspaper. A sympathetic, entertaining story with a light touch, and although the basic troubles may escape the reader, sensitive youngsters will find Binnie very real and may take the hint from the remedy here.