The Button Boat was optioned for a TV-Movie by the late TV producer, David Victor (Marcus Welby, M.D.), and an script adaptation was done by Emmy-winning writer John McGreevey.
"Bushwah!" shouts Auston. Hold your hat, folks. Off we go on a rollicking adventure down river in a clamming boat with Auston and his older sister Dixie, two of the sweetest, poorest, and smelliest kids you ever hope to meet. This is an old-time, thriller-chiller-killer-diller of a story, complete with bankrobbers, a daredevil hero, a villainess who drinks pink lemonade, a dog who drinks beer, a hateful stepfather who just plain drinks, and the two river kids who were tickled by a dream and opened up their shells just enough to get hooked before they could say, "What the Sam Hill goes on here?"
Will they escape their drunken stepfather? Will they ever get to go to a real school? Can a black valise crammed full of money really change their lives? Can the sweet smell of character overcome the superstink of the icky, sticky clam? Read on and find out....
This juvenile novella is a Depression-era tale of action and suspense and kids' scary fun which will remind the reader of the famous 1955 thriller movie, The Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish and directed by actor Charles Laughton, based upon Davis Grubb's novel.
Reviews
"What a razzle-dazzle ring-a-ding movie it would make!" Kirkus Service
"Two beaten-down children of the Depression triumph over a wicked stepfather in a story that is melodramatic, suspenseful and funny." Outstanding childrens' books of 1969, selected by Polly Goodwin, Book World.
"Here is a tale with flavor. Its authors tell, with rare good humor, the story of a brother and sister whose world is the river where they fish for clams, for inedible clams that their drunken stepfather sells (the story takes place in pre-plastic days) to make buttons. The sister fishes, too, for words to teach her younger brother, to redeem the pledge she had made to their mother to take care of Auston. This is going to make a dandy movie, a dramatic, lusty movie for lucky children, that is if a director like Robert Radnitz gets his honest hands on it." Publisher's Weekly
"The Button Boat is a sort of Bonnie and Clyde of a juvenile--an exuberant story set in 1934 and involving two poor, smelly kids, their drunken stepfather, bank robbers, a peace officer, a beer-swilling dog, and a clamming boat 'so square at both ends that only the river knows whether it's coming or going.' Some Notable Children's Books, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, the New York Times,
"Melodramatic, with silent-picture type captions for chapter headings and plenty of wrong-era expressions such as 'banana oil," 'bushwah,' and 'abadaba.' this is a very funny story in which the good guys triumph in the end. Children today are said not be interested in the Depression. They will be unable to resist the gritty Dicksie and her little brother, Auston, and unable to put the down down after the first page."
Janet Clarke, Washington Post Book World
"This is an enthralling book for intelligent young readers of nine upwards and while the language may not belong to 'England Lit' it is racy and stimulating. The illustrations by Suzanne Verrier are also extremely good and The Button Boat should go on the short list for home and school libraries."
Irish Independent, Dublin
"This is a cleverly-written book. It is full of energy and colour, a literary extravaganza....There are moments of quiet beauty, of farcical comedy, of subtle social comment. In short, the book is in many ways brilliant."
Children's Book Review, Great Britain.
"Glendon Swarthout, the well-known American writer and his wife, Kathryn, have combined to produce their second widely-distributed book, The Button Boat. It is complemented by excellent line and wash drawings by Suzanne Verrier. A story with a social conscience about the Depression in Michigan, it features two dirty, smelly, lovable children. A fun-filled story that will influence every reader."
Rand Daily Mail, South Africa
