Joshua Button is descended from the Walmajarri people of the East Kimberley. As a young boy growing up in the far north of Western Australia, Joshua spent many weekends fishing and crabbing in the mangroves with his family. His keen interest in the saltwater country is expressed in the insightful and evocative artwork of his first picture book Joshua and the Two Crabs (Magabala Books, 2008) produced with the help of his friend and mentor Robyn Wells as part of a school literacy program.

In 2006 Joshua and Robyn began the ten-year collaborative and creative journey of Steve goes to Carnival an extraordinary and joy-filled story about a jazz-loving gorilla called Steve who lives in a zoo in Rio (Magabala Books 2016).

Joshua works part-time as an Aboriginal Teaching Assistant in Broome.