The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst

Whenever a cat dies, or a dog, or a bird, or any friend, it can be a little like this story about Barney. Since dying is as usual as living, it's good to know about him. With the impending death of a family pet, I bought this book and read it in hopes of gleaning some ideas about explaining the loss of our dog to my 2 1/2 year old grandson. While the book was too advanced for him, I did use some of the ideas in talking with him about Cricket. This is not a good book if you believe in God. I really liked this book through the 9th good thing about Barney and then all went wrong.

If this book was just the 9 good things about Barney and ended after the funeral for the cat, I would recommend it. The writing is quite good and so sweet through that point, and any of us who have ever lost a loved pet can so identify with the story to this point, that I think those who recommend the book overlook how bad the rest of the book is. If you believe in and are raising your children with the belief in an afterlife this book definitely not for you. In this book, heaven is strongly questioned and the ground is assured.

The child acts out violently towards his friend with no repercussion or direct dealings with his anger from an adult. While I fully acknowledge anger as a part of the grief process, if you choose to read a book that deals with anger during loss, wouldn't you prefer to read a book to your child where anger is handled properly or at least addressed properly by the adult in the book? 3. The 10th good thing about Barney is that he will become fertilizer. I don't think now is the time to be discussing decomposition. This is a time of loss and vulnerability for your child. With so many good books available to help us deal with death and loss I recommend you choose one better than this.Ī great help when explaining a difficult topic I think it is irresponsible for a parent to choose this time to question the hope of an afterlife, show the model of violent behavior in dealing with anger, and begin the discussion of decomposition. The vet who helped us put her to sleep recommended the 10th good thing about Barney to us and we bought it for our daughter. She didn't understand where the kitty had gone, and we read it to her. I like that the book takes a very delicate approach to the idea of what happens after death.

The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst