Button

A bright red button sets off to see the world, becoming many things to many people--from a cart's wheel to a pig's weather vane--and welcoming every adventure that comes his way.

Kindergarten-Grade 5?Fanelli's oversized, circular tale holds readers more through visual design than narrative content. It follows the journey of a red button lost from a man's overcoat. The small round object serves as a girl's toy hoop, a farmer's cart wheel, a wolf's dinner plate, a pig's weathervane, and a snail's home before eventually returning to its original owner. The illustrations seem at once primitive and sophisticated. Collages of paper cutouts, snippets of newspapers and circulars, and pencil line rest on background expanses of often bold, solid colors. The text often appears at the edge of the pages, turning the corner and proceeding along another side. Because of the complexity, the book may interest older art students. It is an unusual but curiously engaging story.?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Overtaken by wanderlust, an enterprising button pops off its owner's coat and sets out in search of adventure. After serving stints as a spare wheel for a farmer's wagon, a plate for a hungry wolf and a weather vane for a pig's house, the fastener-cum-traveler finds a kindred spirit in a sad, homeless snail. Together they explore the world until the original owner, "who had never stopped searching for his beautiful red button," finds them. Debut author Fanelli's abundant visual energy drives this offbeat story. Her quirky collage illustrations are accented with stylishly scribbled crayon drawings (the frantic-looking wolf is pure inspiration). Playfully underscoring the book's circular theme, the text winds itself around the perimeter of the images on successive spreads, forcing the reader to turn the book around and around. The black matte, jacketless cover is adorned with a large, bright-red button that spins, alternately revealing and concealing the characters pictured beneath it. Shifting the emphasis away from the meager plot, such details will no doubt appeal to the design-minded subset of children's book aficionados. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.