Button Down

Gr 3–5—Ylvisaker's sequel (2012) to Luck of the Buttons (2011, both Candlewick) is set in Iowa in 1929. Ned Button dreams of being a football player. In a send-off game for Lester Ward, a local football hero going to play for the Hawkeyes, Ned catches Lester's pass, which entitles him to keep the football. But Lester's brother Burton snatches the ball out of Ned's hands, declaring the ball to be rightfully his and insisting that Ned didn't catch it. This sets in motion Ned's continuing struggling to get the ball back from this local bully and prove his worth as a football player. This down-home story will keep listeners engaged as Ned tries to deal with Burton on his own terms. He has help from his ailing but still colorful granddaddy, Ike, and learns that winning a football game is more about strategy and teamwork than muscles and brute force. Sanjiv Jhaveri does a good job of varying the voices, and his easy styling and good pacing will engage listeners. This story deals with important issues and will interest elementary graders who are football fans.—Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings School, Hoover, AL