8 h 22 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 22 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In these village wars, a missing button can mean defeat—and the boys take every battle seriously.
In the fields and woods of eastern France, the boys of Longeverne and Velrans turn an old village rivalry into their own war. Lebrac, bold and quick to decide, leads Longeverne against the rival chief, Aztec of the Gaul. There are spies, oaths and plans. Captured boys lose their buttons, and the trouble follows them home.
Louis Pergaud’s War of the Buttons brings childhood close, with rough humour, lively village speech and grown-ups who barely grasp what is happening. Lebrac and his friends defend their honour with the seriousness of generals. Beneath their mischief lies a sharper question: what do children learn when they copy the rivalries and rules of the adult world?
What you’ll discover
- A war at child height Enter a world where fields become battlegrounds and village boys command armies of their own.
- Lebrac and his band Meet a clever, daring chief whose friends share the risks of raids and councils.
- Buttons as battle trophies Discover how a small piece of clothing becomes the prize in a fiercely serious game.
- The village in full voice Enjoy earthy humour and lively speech rooted in the lanes and farms of eastern France.
- Childhood mirrors adult life Look beneath the laughter at children copying the conflicts their elders take for granted.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy mischievous children, rival gangs and village comedy full of schemes, songs and colorful characters will love this novel. It rewards lovers of earthy humor and tales of loyalty.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An insult becomes a village war
- Words and stones become weapons
- Torn clothes bring punishment home
- The army builds a shared treasury
- A hidden hut becomes their country
- Belonging leaves someone outside
- Their republic mixes loyalty and cruelty
- Laughter carries tender and sharp feelings
Who’s who
- LebracThe stubborn, generous chief of the Longeverne boys, who wants victory, honor and a way to save his army's clothes.
- CamusLebrac's lieutenant and the best climber in the village, quick to joke and quick to fight, who also dreams of Tavie.
- La CriqueThe thin, clever boy who knows everything, prompts his friends in class, and helps solve every problem with an idea.
- TintinLebrac's neighbor in class and the army's treasurer, who wants to keep the war chest safe and his pockets free of trouble.
- MarieTintin's sister and Lebrac's sweetheart, who shops, sews and hides the buttons for the army and risks her mother's anger.
- The Aztec of the FordsThe small, fierce chief of the Velrans, who wants to avenge his army and defeat Lebrac's boys in battle.
- TouegueuleThe Velrans lookout and best slinger, who climbs a beech tree to spy and is Camus's great rival.
- Father SimonThe schoolmaster who wants his pupils to learn their lessons and cannot see what they do after four o'clock.
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War of the Buttons
by Louis Pergaud · 1912
A single insult sends the boys of Longeverne to war, and the loser walks home with no buttons left.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you do if boys from the next village called you a name you did not even understand? In Longeverne, a village in the hills of eastern France, the answer is simple.
War of the Buttons at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 66,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by Louis Pergaud
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
One insult from Velrans starts a war
On an October morning, Boulot hurries to catch up with the two Gibus brothers on the road to school. Grangibus has news. The evening before, boys from the next village, Velrans, threw stones and shouted names, among them one nobody understands.
That word is soft-nuts. Behind the schoolyard outhouses the older boys argue over its meaning. Tigibus settles it. He once used the word on the family miller, and his father gave him two good slaps.
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Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Pergaud, Louis. War of the Buttons. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-of-the-buttons.
Pergaud, L. (2026). War of the buttons. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-of-the-buttons (Original work published 1912)
Pergaud, Louis. War of the Buttons. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-of-the-buttons.
@book{pergaud2026war,
author = {Pergaud, Louis},
title = {War of the Buttons},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-of-the-buttons},
note = {First published 1912}
}
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What is War of the Buttons about?
It tells of two rival village gangs of boys, from Longeverne and Velrans, who fight over an insult. Their battles, their tricks on adults, and their rule of cutting buttons from prisoners form the story.
Why are the boys fighting over buttons?
Cutting off a prisoner's buttons, hooks and laces humiliates him, and the boys sometimes add painful beatings to the punishment. The loser must go home with his clothes falling apart, which means trouble from his parents.
Who are Lebrac and Camus?
Lebrac is the leader of the Longeverne boys, known for his strength and his bold ideas. Camus is his lieutenant, a great tree climber who loves tricks and has a sweetheart named Tavie.
The author
Louis Pergaud
1882–1915 · French novelist
Louis Pergaud was a French writer born in Belmont, France, in 1882. He worked as a schoolteacher and moved to Paris in 1907. He published De Goupil à Margot in 1910 and War of the Buttons in 1912. He died in 1915 while serving in the First World War.
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