Mr. Buttonman and the Great Escape

In this wordless picture book, Joelle Gebhardt’s intricate embroidered illustrations sublimely stitch together a thrilling tale with an unlikely hero. Mr. Buttonman, a stick figure with arms, legs and body crafted out of black straight stitches and a blue button head, takes a leisurely stroll in a park, stopping to enjoy the daisies. A human hand with manicured, pink nail-polished fingers reaches into the scene and picks up Mr. Buttonman. The canvas is set for more surprises to come.

Trapped at the bottom of a big purse, sitting alongside bobby pins, hard candy and keys, Mr. Buttonman sobs little blue French knotted teardrops. He’s taken home to a sewing room and deposited into a mason jar of collectible buttons. Mr. Buttonman rattles and rocks the jar until it tips over with an embroidered cursive CRASH! He’s propelled out of the glass confines, but he soon finds himself in another jam when his button head falls off and bounces across the page. He sews on some spares, but they just don’t fit: a large, heavy, pink-pearly button makes him fall over; a petal-shaped button attracts bees; and a blue oval button makes him look like an alien. Finally he’s reunited with his correct noggin, and the action turns to daring escape plans.

A series of panels shows Mr. Buttonman craftily fashioning a parachute out of scraps of fabric and thread. However, his nimble handiwork attracts the attention of a marmalade house cat. Mr. Buttonman seems fated to be a shiny play toy, but he foils the kitty cat by using a ball of yarn as a lasso. This epic adventure ends on a satisfying note with the return of our hero to the park where it all began.

Mr. Buttonman is alive with personality, charm and energy. The hand-stitched illustrations have a captivating tactile quality and are sure to inspire many retellings. A visual delight, this picture book is bursting at the seams with creativity, playfulness and imagination.