Brimful of ideas

The story of Billy's Bucket, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Garry Parsons (Red Fox, 5.99) makes a brightly coloured, attractive picture book that provides an ideal basis for an early years project.

Billy asks his parents for a bucket for his birthday present. Initially, they respond by offering him numerous other gifts, including trainers, a computer game and a bike. Billy's persistence pays off, however, and the family embark on a trip to Buckets 'R' Us, where, after a great deal of careful searching, the much-wanted bucket is chosen.

On arriving home, Billy fills the bucket with water and immediately begins to describe all the different things that he can see in it, much to the amusement of his disbelieving parents. After viewing, among other things, pilchards, submarines, a coral reef and a walrus, Billy retires to bed, having warned his parents not to borrow his bucket.

His parents, of course, ignore his warning, with dramatic consequences.

They soon learn their lesson!

Characters and questions

This is an excellent book to have in an early years setting for many reasons, not least of which it is its undoubted appeal to boys, though all children will enjoy it.

The illustrations are bright, modern and cartoon-like, with the characters (especially Billy) drawn in the style that will appeal to any child who enjoys watching cartoons.

There is also a great deal of humour in the book, which adults will enjoy just as much as young readers. I like the way that it presents such a positive image of the boy hero. Billy is a lively character, imaginative and deeply engrossed in pretend play. Ultimately he is shown to be far more sensible than his parents.

There is much to discuss in this book, and time will have to be allowed for the children to ask questions about what has happened, as well as time for adult-initiated discussion.

Some of the questions that might be explored include:

* What made Billy so determined to have a bucket for his birthday?

* Did Billy know about this special type of bucket? If so, where did he hear about it?

* Why didn't Billy's parents believe that he had seen so many things in his bucket?

* Should they have borrowed his bucket at all?

Real experiences

Billy's Bucket is also one of those terrific stories that is far more than a sum of its parts. As well as offering attractive illustrations, an imaginative and original storyline and positive images of boys, it offers the opportunity for any reader to bring their own experiences into play.

All children will have experienced more than one birthday (their own and other people's), the strong desire for one particular present, the feeling that it sometimes seems as if adults never listen and the pleasure that comes from the world of imaginary play. This makes it a good buy for early years educators.

Rich thinking

It is also a book that will encourage children to think, and because of the nature of the story it will enhance the thinking of various learners. Cathy Nutbrown writes, 'Children's patterns of learning can be enriched by many of the themes which run through stories' (see Resources).

She also describes how stories are considered 'a source of rich nourishment for children's developing and lively minds.' In this respect it is valuable to distinguish some of the themes that she identifies which can be found in Billy's Bucket.

One is the idea of 'inside'. 'Insideness' is something that is of great interest to young children. The story presents us with views of the inside of the buckets, as described by Billy, but also offers us a view of Billy and his parents peering into the bucket from the perspective of the sealife living within it.

Billy's Bucket also incorporates the idea of enclosure and 'fitting in'.

The size of objects found in the bucket gradually increases, from 'little shrimpy things' to pilchards, and beyond to submarines and whales, which are clearly too big to fit in a real bucket.

The delightful juxtaposition of ideas here is sure to get children talking, as many of them will have had experience of collecting shells and pebbles (and indeed small creatures) into buckets at the beach and elsewhere. The possible and the impossible are intertwined to great effect.

Any activities that you might wish to plan from Billy's Bucket need to reflect the themes of the book and build effectively on what children find appealing about it.

It is also important to recognise that this is the kind of story that children can readily interpret in ways that are unique to them.

A collection of buckets

Gather together a variety of buckets that can be used both indoors and outdoors. Ensure that your collection reflects the adult world as well as that of the children so that there is a wide range of sizes, shapes and colours. Include a bucket with a hole in it to provide problem-solving opportunities.

* Ask children to bring in buckets from home. Use this collection as a focus for sorting and discussion. Children will want to tell you the stories behind the buckets that they bring with them, such as where they bought them and how they have used them.

* Incorporate the buckets into both sand and water play on small and large scales. In this way, children will be able to mimic ways that they have seen buckets used - on the beach, or by a window cleaner, or perhaps for washing cars.

* Be prepared to provide accessories - cloths, spades, flags and a selection of shells are all possibilities.

* Look for similarities and differences between the buckets. Ask the children to sort the buckets for you. Try to guess the criteria that they have used. Listen out for the mathematical language that the children are using and the ways in which they are using it.

* Create a need for the buckets to be transported. Can the children devise a method of raising a bucket up high, or moving a heavy bucket over a long distance? Can you create a well-type structure, perhaps using a water butt or barrel? This would offer the chance to use buckets in a quite unusual way.

* Devise a maths trail outdoors for the children that will involve using various buckets. This might include ordering and counting the buckets, using some as stilts and having the opportunity to explore weight and capacity.

Musical buckets

Show the children how to turn the buckets upside down and use them as drums. Hands make fine beaters, but you may wish to add some dish mops, plastic and wooden spoons or some strong cardboard tubes.

* Work with the children to devise musical patterns. Experiment with different rhythms. A good starting point might be children's own names, and also some of the names of the creatures found in the bucket, such as crab and pilchard. Choose names that have differing numbers of syllables and you will get some great rhythms going.

A bucketful of stories

This is an excellent activity for stimulating storytelling and writing. You will need to provide a wide selection of buckets. Include those brought in by the children from home. Make sure that you have buckets of varying sizes and materials.

* Explain to the children that they can collect items to put in their bucket to create a story. Ensure that this can include investigating both the indoor and outdoor environment. Children might like to work on their own, or with a partner. Working alongside someone will encourage sharing and collaborative talk. Some children will find it easier to make a story together, rather than on their own. The children will be making small worlds in their buckets - just like the ones that Billy had.

* Let them collect whatever 'ingredients' they wish for their story. The stories could then be written down, recorded or told in small groups.

At the bottom of the bucket

Set up a builder's tray, either indoors or out. Put a selection of resources nearby, such as small-world sea creatures, seashells, pieces of driftwood and pebbles.

* Pretend that the builder's tray is the bottom of Billy's Bucket. What can the children see there? What adventures might be taking place down there, beneath the water?

* Encourage the children to explore with the materials in whatever way suits them best. Some may enjoy mark-making and creating patterns in the sand; others may like to tell stories and share anecdotes. It is vital that all responses to the activity are equally valued.

The Billy's Bucket book

This activity is best offered when the children have experienced lots of playful story-making opportunities. In the graphics area provide some simple origami books, or folded zig-zag books and some tiny Post-it notes.

* Show the children how to make a very simple lift-the-flap book. Let them explore with the materials provided to create a miniature book of their own, so that people can lift the flap to see what is inside the bucket. You will need a good supply of these books, as this activity is bound to be very popular. Make sure that you display some of the finished publications in your book corner.

The Billy's Bucket song

All that you need to know to be able to write this song is the tune for 'The Wheels on the Bus.' It is best to write the song after the children have had the opportunity to revisit the story of Billy's Bucket several times, and have also been able to participate in some of the bucket-related activities. You might wish to initiate the first verse with something like, 'The crab in the bucket goes nip, nip, nip.' Then ask the children for their suggested versions and accompanying actions.

* If it is appropriate for the age of children in your setting, you may wish to write some of the verses down in a shared writing session. With the addition of some illustrations drawn by the children (or photographs you have taken of some props), this could ultimately become a very personalised songbook.

Whose bucket is it anyway?

This is the type of activity that the children may initiate themselves, having been given time to talk about the issues in the book that interest them. It is also the kind of activity that adults can introduce, if the questions are open-ended enough.

* Think about the list of buckets given in the story, as Billy's family wander around the bucket superstore. What is the difference between a farm bucket and a football bucket? Why do they have to be different? Why would farmers and footballers need buckets? What would happen if they got mixed up?

RESOURCES

* 'Nourishing children's thinking through stories' in Threads of Thinking by Cathy Nutbrown (Paul Chapman Publishing)

* Origami book and other paper-folding books in You can make your own book by Paul Johnson (Longman) Bucket stories

* Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow (Puffin Books) nThere's a hole in my bucket by Ingrid Schubert and Dieter Schubert (Andersen Press) Stories with imaginative boy heroes

* The Magic Bed by John Burningham (Red Fox)

* Where's Julius by John Burningham (Red Fox) Songs and rhymes

* 'There's a hole in my bucket' (traditional)

* 'Jack and Jill went up the hill'