I seem to read so many middle grade novels where the main character, often a young girl, is grieving the death of a parent, usually her mother. The child is usually very angry and confused about this loss and often shows this through resentment of other adults who may have formed a relationship with their remaining parent. In this book Laura's mum has died and dad has a new partner named Jane.
Laura cannot talk to Jane. In fact she is openly rude and even hostile towards her. Laura finds some comfort in a string of buttons left to her by her mum. There are buttons from her great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, father and even a couple of her own childhood buttons.
Unlike the books I mentioned previously - this book is a picture book. In the space of just 32 pages Eve Bunting explores and resolves a huge emotional journey. One evening, while Laura is holding her memory string and trying to recount all the stories to her feisty cat the string breaks and the buttons are scattered all over the garden. Jane is not an evil stepmother. She and Laura's dad hunt far and wide and retrieve all but one of the buttons. Later that evening, when Laura is supposed to be in bed asleep, Jane finds the final button - it is from dad's army shirt and was a button that was very precious to Laura's mum. The way Jane lets Laura find this button is filled with wisdom and kindness.
The final scenes in this book made me cry - that is a refection of the power of this writing. This is an older long form picture book published in 2000 but paperback copies from 2015 are still available (June 2023). I enjoyed the story journey in this book but sadly I am not a fan of the art - especially the images of the angry cat.
Eve Bunting is now 94 years old. She has written over 250 books. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything often talks about her book Fly Away Home. Look for Swan in Love and Whales Passing in your school library. Here are some other titles you might recognise:
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