The Memory String, by Eve Bunting

[Valerie]

I read this book for ATY 2019 Reading Challenge Week 23: Something Old.

Her mom has died and now she has a stepmother. Laura resists being close to her. She uses her memory string of buttons to remember her past, but the string breaks and buttons go everywhere in the yard. One is still missing when she goes to bed that night. Laura overhears Jane and her father talking. She learns how caring her step-mother is during this conversation. The button is found, but more importantly, Laura finds a place in her heart for Jane. A children's picture book.