Fill Your Buckets!

Sometimes messages written in books are so important they need to be repurposed for audiences of all ages. Such is the case with How Full Is Your Bucket? Young Reader’s Edition by Tom Rath and Audra Wallace. The concept of an invisible bucket that can be full (or dipped from) began with the publication of How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life in 2004—written by Tom and his grandfather, Donald O. Clifton, PhD—that became an instant New York Times bestseller.

Donald Clifton was also called the “grandfather of positive psychology,” after spending 50 years studying the effects of emotions, interviewing millions of people around the world, and showing how even the smallest interactions we have with others each day can profoundly affect our productivity, health, and longevity.

The reader response to the book was so positive and relevant to teachers and students that an educator’s edition was released in 2007, and a picture book version (co-authored with Mary Reckmeyer and illustrated by Maurie J. Manning) was published in 2009.

Tom Rath and Gallup then approached Audra Wallace, senior editorial director of Scholastic Magazines, with the idea to merge the adult strategies and the picture book strategies into a cohesive version for middle grade readers, and the result was How Full Is Your Bucket? Young Reader’s Edition, and we are excited to offer it for only $1 as our Scholastic Book Clubs Book of the Week.

With chapter titles including “Take the Lead,” “Show You Care,” “Make a Difference,” and “Every Moment Matters,” How Full Is Your Bucket? includes inspiring true stories, case studies, and real-life strategies for lending a hand to others and showing students how to keep their buckets full.

With themes of positivity, self-confidence, and kindness, Tom and Audra break complex topics into teachable ones, which helps educators make sure their students’ buckets are full as much of the time as possible. Here are some additional resources to complement this Book of the Week:

• Take a brain break with the Book Boys as they perform an original song about the importance of treating one another with kindness and filling each other’s buckets!

• Get tips for using How Full Is Your Bucket? Young Reader’s Edition in your classroom from fourth grade teacher Kelly Matthews in Book Talks

• Watch an exclusive video interview with co-author Audra Wallace in Behind the Scenes

• Download a free printable “Fill Your Friendship Bucket: Act It Out!” activity to accompany How Full Is Your Bucket? in Cooked Up from a Book

We also want to help teachers keep their students’ buckets full of books! That’s why in addition to the $1 Book of the Week, we’ve created inflation-busting savings, exclusive author events, live read-aloud shows, and fun contests to get kids engaged with reading.

Thanks for reading with us! And please feel free to share your bucket-filling stories with me at judy.newman@scholastic.com.

XX,
Judy