The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

Barney was a cat who died who died on a Friday. His young owner is sad, VERY, VERY sad. Working through his grief, wise beyond his years, the young boy, remembers the good things about Barney.

As he cannot sleep, eat or play, his overactive mind and his broken heart remember Barney. And, such is

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life! The joy and the pain of gaining and then losing.

Finally falling asleep thinking of nine good things of Barney, the next day at the funeral for Barney, there is a remembrance that

Barney was brave
Barney was smart
Barney was funny
Barney was clean
Barney was cuddly
Barney was handsome
Barney only ever ate one bird
It was a lovely sound to hear Barney's purr
It was special when Barney slept on the boy's belly

And, as Barney is gently lowered into the ground, the tenth good thing noted is that he will now nourish the ground, help to grow flowers, trees and grass.

And, as the young grieving man notes -- "You know, that's a pretty nice job for a cat!"

This is a wonderful book which tenderly shows the grief of a young boy losing a precious pet and the knowledge that Barney will continue to live on.

Recommended.

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The Tenth Good Thing about Barney
Judith Viorst (1971)
I absolutely adored this book and think it is a great book for young children experiencing a first time death of their animal. I liked just about everything including the language, characters, and illustrations. The author wrote it from a young

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boy’s point of view and he expresses how he feels about the death of his cat, Barney. The language is descriptive and relatable and sets a calming mood. The characters also are a great examples of a family. The parents teach their son how to mourn the loss of his pet in the right way. The father tells his son “He’ll help grow the flowers, and he’ll help grow that tree and some grass. You know that’s a pretty nice job for a cat.” They turn what seems so negative into a positive experience. Although the pictures were not colorful, they were appropriate for the mood of the story and were very detailed and interesting t look at. Over all I think that the “big idea” is that with death comes new life. This message can teach children so many things about life and death and help them with new grief in their lives.

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When the family cat dies a little boy mourns and has a really difficult time facing it. The story shows that dying is a part of life.

Ages: 3-6

Source: ECE

When Barney, the family cat, dies the narrator's parents organise a funeral service for which his mother advises him to "[t]hink of ten good things about Barney." The narrator thinks of nine things but cannot think of the tenth. The narrator and his neighbour, Annie, discuss the afterlife: whether

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Barney is in Heaven or the ground. The narrator's father talks to him, telling him that is all right to be sad. He also uses the growth of plants to help ease the narrator's grief, telling him that Barney will "help to grow the flowers, and he'll help to grow that tree and some grass." This becomes the tenth good thing about Barney because "that's not a bad life for a cat."

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This is a good book for childen to read to help them cope with the death of an animal. The little boy in this book has a cat that has died and he is trying to come up with ten good things to remember about him.

A great story to read if you've just lost a beloved pet.

In an attempt to overcome his grief, a boy tries to think of the ten best things about his dead cat.

This book is wonderful if a child has just lost a pet or loved one. It shows that grieving takes time and people do not always feel better right after losing a loved one. It helps children to remember the good things about the deceased and discuss where that person/animal/etc. is now.

This story is about a little boy who becomes upset when his cat dies. His family has a funeral for him and he names 9 things he loved about the cat. His mother asked him to try to remember another thing but he can't. His neighbor tells him that his cat is in Heaven but he says it's in the ground.

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The boy helps his father in the garden and he explains that since the cat is part of the ground now that he will help things grow. Later, the boy tells his mom that is the tenth good thing about Barney, his cat. This is a great book to read to a child (or children) who have lost a pet. I feel like this can be a book alot of children can relate to.

Author website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Viorst

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A boy's cat dies, and he thinks of good things about the cat, including the decomposition of the cat's remains.

Sad but sweet. Hard to tell how I would have liked this book as a kid dealing with a pet death, though.

We've had this book for probably 35 years. Bought it for our second son when he was only 6 or 7. Now that son is 42, and his cat died this week. 'Whisper' was a feral kitten he and his wife found and rescued fifteen years ago. Their eight year-old son called today to tell us about it. "Mommy

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cried," he told us. He may not have seen his father cry, but I'm sure he did.

THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY is a beautiful little book that teaches some important lessons - about living and dying, and how life transforms itself. And also expresses the belief that, if there is a heaven - and "we don't know too much about that" - then surely there is room in it for our beloved pets, whether it's a cat like Barney (or Whisper), a dog, or even a chicken. Barney's family buried him under a tree in the back yard. Whisper is buried in the garden. I have buried two much-loved 'best friends' myself beneath the grapevine in our back yard in the past few years. We get good grapes every year.

I just packaged up our tattered old copy of THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY and mailed it off to my son and his family. I hope it helps. "Good girl, Whisper. Thanks for everything. Godspeed."

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This is just the loveliest book to read to children when a pet dies. It is also a good introduction when children face the loss from death of a loved one. Simple, sweet and endearing.

In The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst a boy grieves for his beloved cat. They had grown up together and now the boy doesn't know how to move on.

His parents plan a burial for Barney and they give their son a task: write down all the good things he remembers about the cat. Most of the

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book are the boy's list and how he's trying to cope.

It's a sad but necessary book. I'm sure I'll end up turning to The Tenth Good Thing About Barney when Caligula cat's life ends. My daughter is so close to both our cats, she will need this extra help.

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This book is about a little boy whose pet dies "Barney". His Mom has a funeral for Barney. His mom, dad and one of his friends attends the funeral he tells about nine good things about Barney and his mom asked what the tenth one was nad he said he would think of it later. Later he and his dad were

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workiing in the garden and they talked about how things grow. Later that night when he is going to bed he tells his mom the nine good things about barney and adds the tenth that barney helps the flowers grow.

Classroom extension we could talk about if any one has every lost a pet and if they were sad and if they held a funeral for their pet.
Another Classroom extension would be to plant a garden and talk about what things help the garden to grow.

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I liked this book because it can help students relate. It deals with sadness, losing a pet, and transformation (How the cat will change and help the plants grow all around him).

We just lost our cat and this was a recommended book to check out. There really could not have been a better book to check out. We too plan to bury our cat in the yard under a tree. I have not yet read the book to our daughter (nearly 5) as I wanted to check the book out for myself - and to be

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honest I was a puddle of tears at the library flipping through. I think now that things have settled a little bit - we are ready to read this great little book as a family. In addition the illustrations are delightful!

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A boy struggles to come up with ten good things about his beloved pet, Barney., who has passed away.
Ages: 4-9
Source: Puyallup Public LIbrary

This book was about a boy's dog who had just died. It was realistic fiction. It talked about ten good things about the dog when he was still alive. It was a way for the boy to process the death of his dog, and remember the good things about him. At the end, the mother and the boy are trying to

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think of a tenth good thing, and they realize that Barney can help the flowers grow where he was buried.

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this book is about a boy who is dealing with the loss of his family pet, his dog Barney. This would be an excellent book for any child that has lost a pet recently or has had a pet die and might need help coping with the loss

this story talks about a boy who just lost his best friend, a dog names barney. he talks about the ten best things about barney. it was realistic fiction ages 4-6

The story was okay, but I could see how it would be good for a young child who has lost a pet or even a human loved one.

Barney was a great cat. He has died and his little boy is very sad. His mother suggests that he think of 10 good things about Barney to share at his funeral but he can only think of 9. That is until he helps his father in the garden. There he discovers the 10th good thing about Barney and begins to

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understand the cycle of life. Heartbreaking yet hopeful and illuminating for children dealing with pet loss or wanting to understand the feelings of others experiencing grief.

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Barney was a great cat. He has died and his little boy is very sad. His mother suggests that he think of 10 good things about Barney to share at his funeral but he can only think of 9. That is until he helps his father in the garden. There he discovers the 10th good thing about Barney and begins to

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understand the cycle of life. Heartbreaking yet hopeful and illuminating for children dealing with pet loss or wanting to understand the feelings of others experiencing grief.

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