GROWING UP WITH A BUCKET FULL OF HAPPINESS

McCloud and illustrator Weber reissue on its 10th anniversary the sequel to their 2006 book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The work lays out three rules for readers—children as well as adults—to find happiness in their lives. All three revolve around the author’s concept of people having buckets they can either fill for themselves or others. Rule 1: Be a bucket filler. “Every time you say or do something caring or thoughtful, you add good thoughts and feelings to someone’s bucket,” McCloud writes, adding a crucial detail: “This makes your bucket fuller.” Rule 2 stems directly from this: Don’t dip into buckets, your own or others, because “while bucket filling adds good stuff to buckets, bucket dipping takes the good stuff out.” And Rule 3 is a bit counterintuitive: Use the “lid” on your bucket, because “if you haven’t learned how to stop others from dipping into your bucket, how will your bucket ever stay filled?” In all cases, the author elaborates on the rule in question, giving dozens of variations and examples of how it applies in everyday life. Opportunities to fill buckets abound. As McCloud points out, every instance of simple kindness helps to fill buckets. And likewise, dipping into buckets can be common: Are you complaining? Are you selfish? The author’s valuable reminder throughout this section is that engaging in these kinds of dipping behaviors depletes your own bucket—and ultimately diminishes your happiness. The section on the third rule—being aware of the lid on your bucket—is the book’s most intriguing and nuanced part, assuring readers that using their lids isn’t an act of selfishness but quite the opposite. The manual, featuring Weber’s colorful images, will be illuminating to children trying to figure out their responsibilities to others—and will clarify the thinking of adults as well.

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