One-Button and the Sea
Sara Stanley and Viviane Schwarz
Scallywag Press

‘Grandpa, tell me the story again of when we went to sea. That’s a BIG story, One-Button.
How does it begin? It begins with the uprooting . . .’ And thus, as One-Button sits with Grandpa we share in the story of what happens to a community that suddenly had to uproot and head out to sea in all manner of boats, some of which had several aboard, but Grandpa’s little boat had just the two of them. Leaving their everyday lives far behind, they sang to keep their spirits up as they encounter both calm and stormy waters. The fierce weather badly damaged some boats but this was a community and so everyone did what they could to help those affected, ensuring the safety of all.

There were happy times and sad times for everyone.

After ages on the sea, waiting, waiting, during which they found various creative ways to pass the time,

one day everything changed again. It was safe to return to their homeland, back where they truly belonged. It was time to carry on with their previous way of living, ready to start generating new stories but never forgetting their challenging experience at sea.

Yes, in her quirkily powerful scenes Viviane Schwarz has illustrated Sara’s telling with an animal community but the book would be ideal to share and then discuss, perhaps using a community of enquiry approach when children will likely link it to displaced people in various parts of the world. It’s hopeful and ultimately uplifting and definitely one to add to Foundations Stage and KS2 class collections.