Billy's Bucket

Product Information

This is such a lovely, beautiful, light-hearted story that gets your brain thinking as to why a boy would want a bucket for his birthday. Parents need to make sure they are listening to their children and allowing them to play as they please. Billy’s parents are sceptical and are left shocked and surprised one morning after his dad borrows the bucket to wash his car.

This is a classic 'low thresh-hold, high ceiling' book which can be used as a basis to form many activities - from arts and craft such as filling their own bucket, to deeper discussion delving around the need to accumulate the more typical 'stuff'. Unfortunately for Billy's parents they do not heed to Billy's advice, which is very clear, "You must never ever borrow my bucket.Anyone would think that Billy is just using his imagination once they hear what he says is in the bucket but he is actually telling the truth! Look back at the beginning of the story and talk about why Billy might want a bucket for his birthday, why his parents seem to think this is strange and why they keep asking to borrow his bucket.

They offer suggestions of other more regular run-of-the-mill gifts but he sticks to his original request. We finished the day reading one of our favourite stories from the Autumn term, Somebody Swallowed Stanley. It is even a very fun book for adults to read, as it really arouses your curiosity the very first time that you read it.

When he found the special one he was looking for he filled it with water and then he could see many amazing things. The illustrations that go along with the story really let you the reader dive right into Billy’s magical watery world. The idea of Billy’s bucket can be used during carpet time to get the children imagining what they might possibly see in Billy’s bucket. His parents laugh it off, but when they borrow the bucket, they have a whale of a problem on their hands. Used for maths with introducing capacity and in English writing stories about what's in your bucket.

Billy’s Bucket illustrates the pleasure that comes from imaginative play and helps develop creative, playful minds.This book could be used as an opening lesson to creative writing, allowing children to recreate their own stories and their own magical watery worlds to share with their peers.

This books is brilliant in getting children to use their imagination and seeing what they can find in their own bucket. Whilst reading the book we transcend into Billy's world, which is a great one that children will love being a part of. His parents take him to ‘Buckets-R-Us’, where there are buckets of every kind but Billy is looking for one particular bucket; a special bucket. Once children have heard the story a few times they can be encouraged to retell the story in their own words using the pictures to guide them. Billy only wants a bucket for his his birthday - not a bike, trainers etc, like his parents suggest to him.It’s great if you have plastic ocean creatures but other small plastic toys would be fun as well, after all it is a magic bucket!