In Iowa circa 1929, spunky twelve-year-old Tugs vows to turn her family’s luck around, with the help of a Brownie camera and a small-town mystery.
(Ages 8-12)
Tugs Esther Button was born to a luckless family. Buttons don’t presume to be singers or dancers. They aren’t athletes or artists, good listeners, or model citizens. The one time a Button ever made the late Goodhue Gazette - before Harvey Moore came along with his talk of launching a new paper - was when Great Grandaddy Ike accidentally set Town Hall ablaze. Tomboy Tugs looks at her hapless family and sees her own reflection looking back until she befriends popular Aggie Millhouse, wins a new camera in the Independence Day raffle, and stumbles into a mystery only she can solve. Suddenly this is a summer of change - and by its end, being a Button may just turn out to be what one clumsy, funny, spirited, and very observant young heroine decides to make of it.
The tale has a whiff of nostalgia (the Brownie box camera, “dagnabit”), but the good old days are balanced by the strongly realized, immediate characters and the delicacy and originality of the writing
—Horn Book
An increasingly suspenseful tale revolving around a dapper, silver-tongued newcomer with plans for starting a newspaper with citizens' money (think The Music Man).
—Publisher's Weekly
The main message here is uncomplicated, but important—with a little faith in ourselves and a willingness to take some risks, anything is possible
—Kirkus Reveiws
Ylvisaker’s lively writing style and appealing characters will charm readers.
—Booklist
Subtle humor, a clever narrative style, and an endearing heroine. Details of photography of the time period add interest, and readers who enjoy a good story with only the mildest of sinister overtones will find this one appealing.
—School Library Journal
Tugs is nothing but good luck for young readers, and they’ll appreciate her role in this perceptive exploration of identity.
—Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books
A heartwarming story about a sensitive girl who exhibits innovation, ingenuity, and creativity.
—Library Media Connection
Combines mystery with unusual characters, including even a well known town cat.
—Chicago Tribune
Ylvisaker’s prose reads like poetry as she creates beautiful images that never feel contrived or self-conscious.
—Star Tribune
Books like THE LUCK OF THE BUTTONS by Anne Ylvisaker are some of the best in the biz. A svelte little novel that's chock full of plum, pluck, and vinegar, Ylvisaker gives us a heroine you can believe in but never pity....Hand this one over to the kid that wants a good story with humor and spice and a family that's practically cursed itself. It'll stick in your brain long after you've read it, this one, and you'll be glad that it's in there.
—A Fuse 8 Production (SLJ blog)
