ELIZA VANDA'S BUTTON BOX BY EMILY RODDA

Eliza Vanda’s Button Box is a middle grade novel full of wonderful characters who inhabit both our world and another that only some know how to get to.

Milly Dynes lives with her artist father in Tidgy Bay where they have a holiday cabin business. They are busy preparing for Milly’s step-mother to come home from hospital with her baby sister. Milly is feeling unsettled with the changes happening around her but doesn’t want to bother her father with her worries.

One day, Eliza Vanda appears and rents one of the ramshackle cabins so she can work undisturbed on a dressmaking project. There is something engaging about Eliza, and Milly is drawn to her and her topsy-turvy cabin. There she sees that Eliza is making an elaborate wedding gown and that she also has a small mouse called Victor as an assistant. She is asked to help Eliza with an errand and is slightly taken aback when it seems to involve sewing buttons inside a coat pocket and taking the mouse along to help. Surely Eliza is just playing a game?

Emily Rodda creates a world full of characters and settings that evoke memories of old fashioned fairy tales where troubles are overcome and dreams realised. Folk who carry their emotions in tiny cages on their heads intermingle with a wicked witch, a frog prince and unicorns. Fears and worries are put in perspective and Milly’s mind is finally put to rest. Her descriptions of the inhabitants of story are colourful and even though they are imaginary, they are very believable and lovable. Jessica Cruckshank’s cover illustration and internal graphics capture the essence of the story perfectly.

The themes of accepting change, confronting the unknown and believing in oneself are neatly folded into the narrative and middle grade readers will enjoy being drawn into this adventure.

For Ages:  8 -12 years

Number of Pages: 288

Published: May 2021

Themes: Change, acceptance and self-belief