My sons had this book as children. It featured Daisy Duck, Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Duey and Louie, Donald Ducks nephews.
It's a story of how a pot of water, and a few buttons, become a feast. It's an adaptation of the Stone Soup legend, that is repeated in many cultures and languages with local variations.
It's always the same idea though. A weary traveller or a hostess in the case of the Disney Button Soup version, wants to make their legendary tasty Button/Stone soup. They appear to need no ingredients other than water, a button (or stone) and a fire.
Passers by, villagers, or Scrooge McDuck in the Disney version, become curious as to what's cooking.
Daisy or the monks or traveller say that it's their legendary Button (stone) soup, famous the world over, and all it really needs to make it even more tasty, is onions/potato/carrots/mutton/herbs and so on.
The participants in the tale, eager to try this famous soup, can't wait to provide the other ingredients, which of course, make up the amazingly tasty soup of legend.
I found this story a great way to get the kids to help in the kitchen.
We'd call it Boiled Egg Soup though.
I'd put on a bit pot of water and add one egg per person. While they boiled, we'd play Button Soup and the boys would fall over themselves to find as many things in the refrigerator, pantry and garden to add to the pot.
At the end, we'd remove the eggs, shell them, slice them, and garnish the bowls of soup with them.
It didn't matter what ended up in the soup, they'd eat it and pronounce it delicious, because they'd put so much effort in to helping make it tasty.
It was a great way to use up odds and ends, get the kids interested in cooking and understanding how different things enhance the flavour of a dish, and have a really economical meal in the process.
Here's the Disney version...
http://ahawes.weebly.com/uploads/5/0/6/3/5063746/button_soup_story.pdf
Here's one of the variations on the original Stone Soup story...
http://www.stonesoup.com/the-original-stone-soup-story/
Even now, my family love making Boiled Egg Soup. It's a fun way to get creative in the kitchen :)
