Bucket Walkers
and the One Hundred Quart Rule
by Phyllis Del Puppo

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Julie's family has refined their love of hiking and huckleberries into the art, science, and sport of bucket walking. Whether food for the belly or food for thought, there's nothing better than heading out with an empty bucket and coming home with it full of berries—or at least, a good story to tell. The family usually gathers enough huckleberries to keep them in cobblers and pies all winter long, plus a good supply of narrative to feed on. On a misty summer morning in 1955, eleven children pile out of the family Plymouth and head into mountain pastures, exultantly free of parents, in search of huckleberries and adventure. Lovingly recalled decades later by Julie, the youngest of the Eleven, the resulting expedition threads through story and song, disaster, delight, angst and laughter. Julie and her siblings crisscross the mountainside, tangling those threads in a colourful muddle as eventful day turns into stormy night. The Eleven hope all will eventually sort itself out if they just stick to the Rules of Huckleberry Picking and look after each other. The six brothers and five sisters grow up a bit during their longest day, and inadvertently set off a chain of events that will impact their whole community before the summer unwinds.

www.phyllisdel.com

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This book will appeal to adults and teens and to young children when it's read out loud to them. The author has worked with children over many years in many capacities,and with a whimsical sense of humour portrays in "Bucket Walker" the story of eleven brothers and sisters. Aged 5 to 18 the siblings convince their parents to let them spend a day on their own in the mountains miles from home,to forage for huckleberries,an important winter staple for the family. The eleven are high-spirited,full of shenanigans and daring-do,and sure of their ability to fend for themselves in the wilds and to fill their buckets. But will they survive their fears and foibles on a mountain fraught with mine holes,cliffs and thunder storms,rock slides,raging creeks,and hungry bears on a day that twists far beyond their appetite for adventure?

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Phyllis Del Puppo (nee Crossley) was born in 1948 in Rossland B.C. She has picked huckleberries since she was old enough to walk, and has always enjoyed outdoor sports, and gardening. She worked with children for many years as a parent, school volunteer, teacher, and Brownie and Guide leader, and has been writing stories since she was ten years old. She graduated at twenty-one from the University of British Columbia with a degree in English and a second major in Biology. Phyllis was inspired to write this book by a lifetime in the outdoors and by the joy, mayhem, and ingenuity of growing up in the country. She also wanted to give youth an inkling of what life was like for "the old folks" before their young lay slumped in their plush bunting bags. Phyllis lives in the rural West Kootenays with her husband of 53 years. Together, they have raised two daughters, travelled, gardened, enjoyed many outdoor sports, and participated in a vibrant community life.

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Phyllis Del Puppo

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