The button I'm looking for
needs to be just the right size,
just the right shape, and just
the right color.
Nanna holds up a tiny yellow
circle. "This one is special, "
she says. "It was on the
jacket you wore home from
the hospital."
I remember my mom's button tin. It was an old tobacco tin with a lid that was bent and had to be pried off. It was filled with buttons taken from old clothes, given to her by others, and added to at every opportunity. You never knew when you might need to replace a button, and could only hope there would be one similar to the one needed. Otherwise, it was replace every one of them. I am not sure where that button tin is now; I suspect I took it to my kindergarten class for a sorting center.
Heather Potter's quiet and delightful gouache illustrations offer a close look at a visit with grandparents. The child narrator expresses her love for the button tin, and the many stories it tells. Pop reads to a little brother, and the other two search through the spilled buttons to find a 'special one for Teddy'.
As they sort, Nanna offers stories from their lives, where the buttons first made an appearance. While Teddy seems to express concern that they are dawdling, the two are sure they will find just the right one to solve his problem. Finally, the perfect button is found, Nanna sews it on while Teddy is told a comforting story to calm his fears. Voila, operation complete. The button tin is returned to its place of importance until the next time a button is needed.
Every spread, including the endpapers, is worth a close look. Some of the double page spreads are divided to include the memory placed beside the present day. Others show the shared search and the work done to bring Teddy back to good health. All are meaningful and lovely.
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