Sara The Bucket Filler
Sara The Bucket Filler
Author: Rivka Fishman
Illustrator: Miriam Sin-Shalom
Publisher: Mosaica Press (Distributed by Feldheim)
First off, I was so drawn in by the white on the cover. This cover gives off so much love and warmth and yup kids (and adults!) do judge books by covers.
The title does not in any way indicate what this book is about which is both good and not so good. The subtitle tells it like it is: A story about showing kindness and being happy
Ok. I honestly almost rolled my eyes figuring it would be yet another story about how wonderful children always are.
But the third page made my heart go to my stomach as a bully, Dina, begins her put downs of Sara “Big deal, who cares?” she says as Sara talks to her class during show and tell.
By page four the effects are clear. Morah does the “Let’s be kind to each other” speech but “Sara didn’t want to talk anymore. She just shook her head.”
No. She didn’t cry or scream. She just looks broken. Shattered.
As a mother, I know this story all too well and I almost couldn’t go further. One of my children had been bullied and by the time I’d found out...well it was gut wrenching.
I had to read further but before I did, I went onto the author’s website http://sarathebucketfiller.com/ and was gratified to see she’d been using Dr Izzy Kalman’s bully-proofing ideas as some of her core ideas.
I was back to the book where Dina keeps bullying Sara. Notably, in the illustrations, there are hardly any others around at the time…..Classic.
But eventually there are classmates who Dina goes to talk about Sara and point fingers….
Morah Ilana sits with Sara and explains the “bucket concept”. “The bucket (inside us) holds all the good feelings we have about ourselves, about others and about the world….”
Full buckets generate good feelings.
Empty ones...well who hasn’t felt depleted like that?
Sara asks good questions which Morah Ilana answers like:
Why do people empty other people’s buckets?
How do I fill my empty bucket?
(Don’t even think I’m giving you the answers! Go get the book and read what Morah Ilana has to say. She’s spot on!)
It’s brilliant. It’s empowering. And it works-- I’ve tried it.
The book concludes with a quiz to know if you’re a “Bucket Filler”.
Since the book does have lots of words on each page and some of the concepts do take some maturity, I think it’s best for kids 6 and up but really even 8 and up. My 7 year old son “got it” but my 9 year olds definitely did better.
Read this book. Share it with young ones. Let’s build bucket fillers!
Available here:
http://www.feldheim.com/sara-the-bucket-filler.html
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Sara-Bucket-Filler-Showing-Kindness/dp/1946351164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511458110&sr=8-1&keywords=sara+the+bucket+filler