Nursery World - Life's rich tapestry

Surprisingly real fish, a rich but lonely crocodile, a fat cat, hungry ducks and an accident-prone dinosaur star in a collection of new books reviewed by Alison Boyle. Billy's Bucket, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Garry Parsons, (Bodley Head, 10.99).

Billy's Bucket, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Garry Parsons, (Bodley Head, 10.99).

The moral of this story is: don't patronise children by underestimating the power of their imaginations. Billy's mother and father are extraordinarily lacking in awareness, so they need a convincing argument to change their viewpoint.

Billy insists that his parents do not borrow his bucket for any of their household jobs because he can see creatures like stingray and barracuda swimming around inside. These creatures are proved to be real when Harry's father uses the bucket to rinse his car. A whale lands on top of it, crushing it flat.

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