Button Down, Anne Ylvisaker
Button Down, Anne Ylvisaker
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Button Down

Author: Anne Ylvisaker

Narrator: Sanjiv Jhaveri

Unabridged: 2 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/25/2012


Synopsis

Ever since local boy Lester Ward got drafted by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and football fever hit Goodhue, Iowa, scrawny Ned Button can think of nothing but the game. Sure, Lester’s younger bully of a brother is determined to keep Ned and his gang from ever getting near a real pickup game. But Ned has a few tricks up his sleeve: he can catch and sometimes even throw, much to his surprise. And he’s got his eccentric grandpa Ike, who has less get-up-and-go these days but no shortage of down-home wisdom to pass along. Like that being a football star is less about being big and more about strategy and playing as part of a team. And that having friends and family in your corner is a bigger prize than a lucky football will ever be.From the acclaimed author of The Luck of the Buttons comes another story about a sometimes hapless, always winning family that scores big points for humor and heart.

About Anne Ylvisaker

Anne Ylvisaker is the author of Dear Papa, which Booklist named a Top Ten First Novel for Youth; Little Klein, a Book Sense Children’s Pick and winner of numerous awards, including the Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award; and The Luck of the Buttons, an Indie Next List Selection. About Button Down, the second book to feature the Button family, she says, “When Ned confessed, in The Luck of the Buttons, that he couldn’t catch a football but still liked to play, I recognized a piece of my childhood. In my neighborhood, we played countless games of baseball in the alley, soccer on the median, and football in front yards. While I couldn’t hit, throw, catch, or kick, I loved those seconds of suspense after a ball was launched and victory was yet possible. For me, it never was, but what about Ned? I put a ball in the air and Ned on the field and wrote to find out what happened.” Formerly of Iowa and Minnesota, Anne Ylvisaker now lives in California with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sandra on February 12, 2020

It was a cute story and more for kids I think but it had relevance since I am from Iowa and they even mentioned the town I was from and I am a Hawkeye fan and I worked in Iowa City. From that perspective it was interesting.......more

Goodreads review by Brenda on February 23, 2013

Button Down I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our assumptions and unexamined stereotypes make us act. And I’ve been wondering how books can help us change. Button Down is the second book by Anne Ylvisaker about the Button family. They’re from rural Iowa. During the Depression the Button famil......more

Goodreads review by Mrs. S on September 09, 2012

When local football hero Lester Ward heads off to play college ball, the small town of Goodhue gets football fever. Small but scrappy Ned Button dreams of following in Lester's footsteps, but it seems impossible until he learns to take a few lessons from his ailing grandfather. I would recommend thi......more

Goodreads review by Jill on September 19, 2012

Loved this second in a series of books about the inimitable Button Family. This one is about Ned Button, and has football, humor, great heart, lovely writing and writing as crisp as the Iowa fall in which the story is set. Pub date is Sept. 25. Great for ages 8-12, who are looking for a wholesome, f......more

Goodreads review by Angela on August 01, 2015

This was a good book with the wrong reader. I took a risk trying a sports themed book and I think it's just not really my genre. I do admit that the ending of this book is really good and grandaddy is a great character.......more