The Button Boxes, Paperback/Temple Kinyon

What does a football-loving kid do with a couple of old wooden boxes and a pile of buttons? Andy Howell sure doesn't know, but his Grandma Lois gives him precisely that on his twelfth birthday. "They'll change your life and show you spectacular stories about our family's history," Lois tells him. But Andy wonders if she's just trying to coax him toward a future in the family tailoring business and away from his dream of becoming a famous football player. And when she urges him to sleep with the buttons to unlock their magical stories, he begins to think she's going crazy. He doesn't have time to mess with stupid buttons and boxes. All he can think about right now is how to get a good grade on his family tree project in history so he doesn't get benched by his coach and ridiculed by his teammates, who are also his friends. But when Lois suddenly ends up in the hospital with a mysterious ailment, Andy begins to wonder if the power of the buttons and boxes are the only things that can save her. If he learns the button's secrets and his family history, will it cure Lois? Andy doesn't know but frantically devises a plan to rescue her, risking trouble with his parents, teachers, friends, and worst of all, his coach. But is it too late?