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The Tenth Good Thing About Barney Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Tenth Good Thing About Barney


This book is absolutely, without a doubt, a great book for younger children to cope with the loss of a pet. This book, however, would not be appropriate for the loss of a human life. The author lets the reader know that it is OK to feel sad, to not want to watch TV, or to eat or to go outside and play. But most important of all, that it is OK to cry and feel sad.
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The mother and father hold a backyard funeral for Barney, the beloved deceased cat, and the little boy comes up with nine good things to say about Barney. Afterwards, when they plant flowers, he can come up with the tenth good thing about Barney.

Older children will find this too 'babyish', I believe, but this book was perfect for my younger children when our beloved dog, Snowball died. Our vet gave us this book, along with the Rainbow Bridge poem. It was very comforting.

The book conveys that we have to honor the grieving and the questions of children as they mourn their beloved pet, whether it is a fish, a dog, a cow, a horse, or whatever pet that is so important to them. The value of a 'ceremony' is just as important for closure and very important for a small child.

I highly recommend this tender book.

The review of this Book prepared by Judith E. Pavluvcik



Chapter Analysis of The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

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Plot & Themes

Tone of book?    -   thoughtful Time/era of story    -   2000+ (Present Day) Animal story    -   Yes Kind of animal:    -   cat Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Age 7-10

Main Character

Gender    -   Male Profession/status:    -   student Age:    -   a kid

Setting

How much descriptions of surroundings?    -   2 () Small town?    -   Yes

Writing Style

Amount of dialog    -   significantly more dialog than descript

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

Judith Viorst Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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