Book excerpt: What does a friendless girl do who is constantly picked upon in school for the clothes she wears? Ellie is not rich, her father died young, and her mother can't afford to buy her clothes in a store. Her mother, being a seamstress, makes clothes for Ellie out of the remnants of material she uses to sew her customers' clothes. Ellie loves to collect buttons and is constantly adding to her large collection. Will her passion for buttons lead her to the answer she is looking for to put an end to the students' non-stop harassment of her? Ellie's creativeness, a mother's love and a stroke of luck will turn her whole life completely around.