Each button on Laura's memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her mother-a button from her prom dress, a white one off her wedding dress, and a single small button from the nightgown she was wearing on the day she died. When the string breaks, Laura's new stepmother, Jane, is there to comfort Laura and search for a missing button, just as Laura's mother would have done. AGES: 4-8 AUTHOR: Eve Bunting has written more than two hundred books for children, including the Caldecott Medal–winning 'Smoky Night', illustrated by David Diaz, 'The Wall', 'Fly Away Home', and 'Trains to Somewhere'. The late Ted Rand was the esteemed illustrator of many picture books, including Eve Bunting's 'The Memory String' and 'Secret Place'.