The Tenth Good Thing about Barney, by Judith Viorst (Simon and Schuster, $16.99HB, ages 5-9, grades 1-4, 32pp)
Judith Viorst's books have stood the test of time and even though this one is nearly 40 years old and one that some of us grew up with, it will last and our grandchildren will learn from it about their best friend.
With lovely understated drawings of the story, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney is a book to read over and over again. And just like the boy in the book who cries before falling asleep, I know some children who will take this to bed with them, read it and look at the pictures and remember their best friend for many nights.
On a lighter note, the name Barney could bring up pictures of a dog as well as a cat as in Viorst's story.
In a nutshell, the boy can quickly come up with nine good things about his cat who passed away but he gets stuck trying to think of a tenth. It is not until he dad plants a seed that the boy can think of a tenth. And the ending will stay with the young reader forever.
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