A kid named Bucket stars in this cheery third volume of a chapter book series about taking action to make positive changes, big or small. Sparked by a class project to create name tags, Bucket (who happens to be nonbinary) ponders the age-old question of what’s in a name. “Bucket” is by their own admission a nickname, created accidentally through a teacher misspeaking (and not, as one might expect, a name chosen when Bucket came out as nonbinary). But “Bucket” is “more my real name than my old name is,” Bucket explains. But if their old name doesn’t feel right anymore, and “Bucket” is just a nickname, who are they really? Bucket then begins to think not only about names, but also about other descriptive words that convey who they are. Soon, Bucket has swept the whole class along in this exploration of self and identity.
In an introduction common to to all volumes, after Bucket introduces themself and their friends, they explain that they use “they” and “them” pronouns. These “fit lots better” than “he” or “she,” which felt like wearing uncomfortable clothes. One friend, they note, “used to struggle” with using “they,” but because she “would just fix it and move on and not make a big deal about it,” Bucket was okay with that (and the friend eventually always got it right). It’s a clear teaching moment, but remains separate from the main story.
Introduction aside, Bucket’s nonbinary identity is completely incidental to the other volumes. It has a small moment in this one, though, when a new teacher introduces themself as “Mx. Marlin,” and explains that they are nonbinary. The other students all look at Bucket, spotting the similarity. Bucket is excited, though, since they’ve never had a nonbinary teacher before, and thinks it’s “pretty cool” to have “a teacher like me.” They’re also happy that the teacher “didn’t make a big deal about” being nonbinary, “because it wasn’t a big deal.” The scene conveys the importance of role models and representation while also helping to normalize nonbinary identities.
Bucket’s musings about their name and identity, however, never touch on gender. I’d like to think that’s because author Tom Rademacher wants Bucket to be perfectly secure in their gender identity. This isn’t a coming out story or one in which a character chooses a nonbinary name after having a gendered one. Does it feel inauthentic, however, to have a nonbinary character not reflect at all on their gender journey when thinking about names and self? Or is it refreshing to have a nonbinary character so confident in who they are, gender-wise, that this doesn’t come up for them? Readers’ opinions may vary. Being cisgender myself, I’ll refrain from opining.
The story is told in an engaging, first-person, stream-of-consciousness narrative whose often-breathless sentences reflect Bucket’s personality. “I’m not always good at staying focused,” Bucket told us in the first volume—and readers who feel similarly may see themselves reflected. Even if one has to hang on through Bucket’s frequent tangents, though, all readers should appreciate their irrepressible personality and kind heart.
Backmatter includes an Author’s Note about figuring out who one is, Questions for Readers, and related activities for solo readers and groups.
Bucket and two friends are White; one is Black and another Asian.
