How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids

by Tom Rath, Maurie J. Manning (illustrator), Mary Reckmeyer

An illustrated adaptation of the long-running bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? (more than 400,000 copies sold) for kids — told through the story of a boy who learns a valuable “bucket filling” metaphor and watches it come to life as the day unfolds.

Every moment matters.

Each of us has an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful. Yet most children (and many adults) don’t realize the importance of having a full bucket throughout the day.

In How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids , Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well.

Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the buckets of his classmates, teachers and family members. Before the day is over, you’ll see how Felix learns to be a great bucket filler, and in the process, discovers that filling someone else’s bucket also fills his own.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Friendship, Fiction, Emotion, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Tom Rath is an author and researcher who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and well-being. He has two books slated for publication in 2020, Life's Great Question: Discover How You Best Contribute to the World and It's Not About You: A Brief Guide to a Meaningful Life, published in partnership with Amazon Original Stories.

In total, Tom's 10 books have sold more than 10 million copies and made hundreds of appearances on global bestseller lists.

Connect with Tom at:

- www.tomrath.org
- Twitter.com/TomCRath
- Facebook.com/AuthorTomRath
- Google.com/+TomRath
- Linkedin.com/in/trath/

Reviews

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 5 out of 5]

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This book was given to a friend of mine who thought she’d pass it to me for another look of how to fill your bucket.

Let me explain . A few years ago I was feeling overwhelmed by life. I have reason to feel like that now and again.
I chose to go into talking therapy for six weeks. As a Carer life can sometimes be difficult.

I learnt that my “bucket” gets filled up everyday by certain things, but as we go through the day we can empty it, and she showed me “mentally” how to do that. It was very interesting.

I also learnt about how important sleep is, not just the amount and quality but also the importance of time.
The brain can work out things within sleep unless you wake up with you’re bucket still full, then during the day you are adding to it again, eventually the bucket starts to overflow.......leaving us with anxiety, etc and not coping.

This little children’s book gave me another flip side to what I learnt.

This is about feelings, kindness and a fabulous book for children.

As a child it’s a lot different than managing as an adult.

The illustrations were excellent.

I thank my little friend for lending this to me.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a gift, given in paperback to my son from his maternal grandmother who is a retired teacher. It is a lesson in how to treat others. It's also a lesson in behavior. And a lesson in putting good karma out there. 'What goes around comes around' who says that it has to be a bad thing. Good karma can reciprocate as well. At least that's how I've always thought of it. And I practice it daily putting good karma out there at all times and it does come back around especially when you least expect it to. And this book is a great example of that. Everyone has a bad day but it's all in how you deal with it. I've read this book to my son thousands of times. He is obsessed with this book. This is the first book he's picked out of his library in the last few years. He loves books and when he likes a book a lot he wants it read over and over again year after year. This one is no exception. Whenever he feels sad, or feels like his day isn't going right, or when he misbehaves or is overloaded with constant input from the day (my son is autistic/nonverbal) he picks this book because he can relate to (especially to the main character Felix) and learn from it. It actually calms him. This is a book great for all ages. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every moment matters.
Each of us has an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful. Yet most children (and many adults) don’t realize the importance of having a full bucket throughout the day.
In How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids, Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well.
Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the buckets of his classmates, teachers and family members. Before the day is over, you’ll see how Felix learns to be a great bucket filler, and in the process, discovers that filling someone else’s bucket also fills his own."

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this a couple of years ago for a class I was taking at work (I don't work with children, not directly anyway) and came across it yesterday while doing some much needed spring cleaning. Very quick read. Basically just a nice way of showing how sharing is caring. Good artwork, cute story. I liked it.

That Kindle price is ridiculous though.

[Beth (YA Books Central) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When Felix wakes up one morning, he finds an invisible bucket floating overheard.
A rotten morning threatens his mood-and his bucket- drop by drop.
Can Felix discover how to refill his bucket before its completely empty?"

How Full Is Your Bucket is an inspirational children's book that is filled with metaphors to help children to see how to view right and wrong. Felix's grandfather explains to him that everyone has a bucket and depending on his and other's actions...his bucket can either be full or empty and it is up to others to help fill or remove the water from your bucket.

I thoroughly enjoyed how this book teaches kids to see how their words and actions can affect other people and how by just one kind word a person can change someone's entire outlook for the day.

How Full Is Your Bucket explains how being nice and honest can make such a huge difference in someone's life.

I loved the illustrations in this book as well...they were so bright and colorful and full of emotion. You can see the genuine emotion on all of the characters faces both when they are happy and when they are sad. I recommend this book to all parents who have young children in school. This is a perfect book to help them learn right and wrong and how their actions affect others.

[Tim Vandenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important & beautiful message for all kids (and adults).

However, the execution of this book (both in its text AND art) really fell short for me. I think a better (and much more powerful) rendition could have, and should have, been delivered.

For example: "Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson & E. B. Lewis.

Recommended for its message alone. Don't expect much from the predictable story & lackluster art.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided before school starts that we were going to work on our growth mindset to better prepare them to things that happen at school. I found, "How to Full is Your Bucket? for Kids" by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer and thought how perfect this was to learn about the bucket analogy. This is an illustrated adapt of the bestseller "How Full is Your Bucket" for kids through a story of a boy who is learning about the metaphor and watches his bucket during the day.



I absolutely love this book. I love how it takes the metaphor of bucket filling and explains how we each have one for kids. My kids took to this book right away and for weeks they were saying, "My bucket is emptying because of your mean words." My kids also learned that they themselves can fill their own buckets. The illustrations are colorful and keep the kids attention to the book and really shows what the story is about. They are simple in it though and for this book it works because you don't want kids to be distracted from the words. I recommend this to every family to check it out and read to their kids.

[Heather]

Text-to-Teaching

After reading this book to a class, a teacher could have the class brainstorm ways to incorporate kindness into the classroom and use it as a writing/art assignment. Students can use materials to create a 'Bucket Book'. This would be a book of ideas on how to be kind, respectful, helpful, compassionate. The students could illustrate it using a variety of art supplies, and write it using proper procedure depending on their grade level. Students can also decorate their own small buckets that can hang around the classroom and use those to put "drops of water" (maybe pieces of paper or puff balls) into another's bucket when they've done something kind, etc. This may need to be tweaked according to the room/students/etc, but could be a jumping off point for actual buckets being filled!

[A. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great little story about treating others with kindness, and having empathy. The visuals of the buckets and different levels of liquids made it easier for my small kids to understand the concept of “do unto others...” The phrase “fill some buckets” has now become part of our morning benediction before they go to school. The story is also cute and easily relatable, so my kids frequently ask for it at bedtime.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn’t spectacularly written or illustrated, but the message really resonates with kids. Almost all of the K-2 teacher’s at my kids’ school use it, and the concept is an easy one to grasp and remind kids of throughout the school year. It’s a nice little parable.

[Syd Griffetts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both of my classes LOVED listening to this book and doing the Bucket Filler activity afterward! So good!

[Ammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this when I was teaching, but it was redundant with all our daily character training now.

[Neda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story and its subject were just fine. However, I didn't like the translation much.

داستان و موضوع کتاب خوب بود. اما ترجمه خیلی خوب نبود متاسفانه.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very interesting. I recommend it.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

With creative use of metaphor, Felix's grandpa helps him to understand that everyone has an invisible bucket that follows them around all day. When bad things happen, the bucket slowly loses its water. When good things happen, water is added to the bucket. Felix wakes up one morning able to see everyone's previously invisible buckets and realizes how his actions affect them and their buckets. He changes his behaviors to become more of a bucket-filler than a bucket-emptier. He finally notices how not only is he able to fill the buckets of others, but in doing so, his own bucket is filled up as well.

The colorful illustrations in this book help to tell the story and explain why the characters' buckets are either filling or emptying. This helps to explain that the buckets are metaphors for a person's feelings and that by being kind to someone, it makes you feel good at the same time. The pictures also give great detail to the feelings and emotions of the characters that I am sure all kids will be able to relate to, from a rushed morning at home, to kids being rude at school, to someone finally saying something nice after a long, hard day.

This book would make an excellent contribution to any elementary classroom's management plan. It could be read and discussed on the very first day with follow up activities all year long. Students could help to make bucket-filler posters, giving ideas on how to be a bucket filler. The teacher could send thank-you notes home to students he/she observes as being a bucket filler. What a great way to emphasize the positive and teach students about how their actions affect others!

After a quick search, I found this really great classroom bucket-filler activity on the scholastic site and it was so interesting, I thought I'd post a link to it in its entirety here instead of trying to explain it: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/to...

[Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Category: Grades K-3, Book #25

This book set the tone for my entire school year. The premise is to teach children about what their actions can do to help someone or to put them down. All of our conversations when it comes to behavior are about "bucket filling behaviors." The children can easily understand the concept and apply it to their own behavior.

Critic Review from Barnes and Noble.com:
School Library Journal
- K-Gr 2—Based on the author's adult work How Full Is Your Bucket? (Gallup, 2004), this book explains that we all have invisible buckets of water over our heads. The negative actions of others toward us can empty the buckets, and our own meanness toward them can deplete their vessels, too. Positive actions reverse the process. Felix refuses to allow his sister to play blocks with him. When she angrily kicks over his tower, his grandfather explains that Felix dipped from his sister's container. The next morning Felix actually sees a bucket floating over his own head, and during the course of the day, as he is alternately bullied and praised, he realizes what causes it to be empty or full. This story is so heavy-handed and didactic that children are likely to find it laughable. Neither Felix, his sister, nor even their dog is a likable character, and the floating buckets over everyone's head look just plain silly.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

[Tori Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about a boy that comes to the realization that how he treats others can have an effect on them. The metaphor of a "bucket" is used to show how others (including the dog) feel when they are treated good/bad by others.
In the classroom, I use this book at the beginning of every school year. I do a lesson about how to empty/fill a bucket and discuss with the class how we should be filling one another's buckets everyday. It is a great classroom management/community tool.
This was a wow book for me because it presents a problem that everyone faces at some point in life in a way that can be understood by children. It also made me think of how I "fill" my student's "buckets," and created a more positive classroom environment for me. It's just a wonderful book for any K-2 teacher!

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story of a 36 hour period of a boy's life, Felix discovers the principles of how to fill or empty his own bucket as well as those around him with feelings of happiness or sadness. As the events of the day unfold and he interacts with family, friends and classmates Felix learns to recognize those whose buckets need refilling and how helping those in need of a boost also fills his own bucket with positive feelings. Try this story first as children love to relate to the message of the story through it's telling, and then if your child needs more explicit examples of behaviors that help or harm read "Have you filled a bucket today?" by Carol McCloud.

[Shellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

illustrated by Maurie J. Manning

EVERY person who breaths air should read this book!
It is seriously an amazing little book.
As you go through your day and life are you filling or emptying your bucket?
As you go through your day and life are you filling or emptying other people's buckets?
It's that easy. Everything we say and do will either fill or empty joy in your bucket or other's.
You DO make a difference!

And yes the illustrations are as good as the book.

This is just my opinion, read the book to form yours.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about filling each others invisible buckets. making people feel good about themselves through encouragement and positive feedback.

I taught a lesson in a third grade class using this book with cutout buckets. The students loved the idea that they could write nice notes to their friends and help everyone's buckets fill up.

I recommend everyone read this book or the more adult version because it is something we as a society can do for each other to make living a little easier.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book written to help people to understand the idea that if you help or give to another soul, you will reap a reward for your kindness. Many times more than you give. Each good deed fills your bucket another drop. Their good deeds to you fills your bucket as well. But if they do something mean to you it takes a drop away. Cleverly written and great for children of adults!

[Danna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. We all need to remember that we have a choice each time we encounter someone. We can choose to "fill" their bucket with our kind words or deeds. Or "empty" their bucket with unkind words or actions. It is such a simple thing to give a smile or a thoughtful gesture that can make someone's day.

So remember to "fill" the bucket of those around you.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the adult version of this book. I did like this one, however I felt like it wasn't as child friendly as it could have been...I was hoping for more examples and it seemed a little too obscure for my 5 year old. However, I still like it and would recommend it. We talk a lot about filling buckets in our family :)

[Chardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a winner when it comes to showing that sometimes people need to make one another feel better. It’s about making everyone feel better by using the idea of a bucket. The idea is to keep everyone’s bucket full, which is a way of cheering others up. I say it's perfect from grades pre-k to 3rd grade.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Motivational book for kids. This will be loved by the circle of grandparents who are looking for a straight forward character trait book. Ages 5+

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this and we are giving it to all our teachers this fall to start off the new school year. We hope they use in their classrooms. Great postive strategies.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for helping to teach children to be positive.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good message about being nice to others and the rewards from being positive

[Saima Pradhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches the reader how important it is to be nice to others so they can build their confidence.

[Wafa]

aya loved it.