Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst, ill. Erik Blegvad
It seemed only fitting to me that since last week’s podcast episode dealt so directly with the beginnings of life, why not focus on the end this time around? I’ll tell you this much, though. If you’d informed me, prior to this recording, that a 1971 picture book would be one of the best books I ever encountered on death, I would not have believed you. But I probably should have realized something was up when I saw that The Tenth Good Thing About Barney was by Judith Viorst. Today we deep dive into how good a name “Barney” is for a cat, whether the mom is trying to subtly regift her yellow scarf as a dead cat wrap, and whether this family’s sodium intake is too high.
Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, or your preferred method of podcast selection.
Show Notes:
Death books we’ve done on this podcast already include Duck, Death and the Tulip and The Dead Bird. Previous Judith Viorst books done on this podcast include I‘ll Fix Anthony, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and My Mama Says There Aren’t Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things.
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According to Print Magazine, this is Erik Blegvad circa 1953 on the Boulevard St. Michel, Paris. And a nattier image of a picture book illustrator I dare you to find.
We don’t call it out, but this is one of those picture books where the space below a child’s bed is ridiculously clean. Freakily so.
We’re a bit baffled by the sheer amount of salt hanging above the stove. Is it for grease fires? Does it contain the ashes of Aunt Salty? Who’s to say?
The dad goes through a marvelous transformation in this book. From this schlubby image…
To this ….
Kate Recommends: The September House by Carissa Orlando
Betsy Recommends: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem book and score.
Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY has been a favorite of mine since its publication. 1971, you say? I was experiencing my eighth year as a teacher in 1971 and have memories of sharing this book with my young students. Thinking about that reminds me of the time years later I was working in a basement classroom. The windows were at ceiling level. One of the kids owned a cat named Stanley Livingston. At times he would stroll passed these windows to say “hi”. We all enjoyed his visits.
I currently visit classrooms with my Golden Retriever, Grace. She and I are a Therapy Dog Team with Tucson, Arizona, Humane Society. During almost every visit students want to talk about personal experience with pet grief. When it seems appropriate I share these thoughts with the kids. First, I confirm how very hard it is when we must say “goodby” to a beloved animal and tell them to never allow anyone to minimize the extent of the pain and the importance of the loss. Then I share how I respond to Grace when I am reading, on the computer, etc. and she interrupts me. I have a choice at that point to ignore her or stop my activity to give her time, a walk, petting, some form of attention. I think about the fact that my time with her is limited and usually will choose her wish for attention over mine. I remind the students that all living creatures have lifespans . . . butterflies, flowers, dogs, redwood trees, human beings. Because dogs usually live much shorter lives than the people who love them we have an opportunity to share our lives with several furry friends. It has been my experience that even very little ones seem to understand my thoughts. I love sharing my dog with others. It provides so much joy.
BARNEY and VIORST . . . both exceptional . . . and also a certain reviewer named Betsy Bird.
Tonight a teacher in Tucson called to inform me Grace and I have been selected to participate in a weekly Read to a Dog program for this school year. We will begin on October 26th just as soon as she and I complete our annual 4,000 mile/ 6 day drive from Maine to Arizona . . . books on Audible all the way!
My encounter with this book was when some well-meaning person gave it to me and my brother after our father died suddenly. It…was not a good choice. (Leo Buscaglia’s The Fall of Freddy the Leaf went over even worse). Reflecting on it decades later, I can admit that it probably is a perfectly good book for its intended purpose. But I still hold a grudge.
Oof. Yeah, no. Can’t blame you there.
My goodness. The usually well-intentioned but clueless mistakes people make responding to another’s grief. I can’t imagine how misunderstood you felt when this happened. In order to forgive such errors in judgement, I have to tell myself the gift of awareness that comes through having the experience yourself is very precious. Sharing that can mean so much to fellow sufferers. I hope comments from others at the time were able to soften the impact of those book choices. They seem to me very, very inappropriate. BARNEY is wonderful, BUT NOT in the way you experienced it.
I had a cassette tape of several of Judith Viorst’s picture books, and I listened to it a LOT. (Just typing this, I can hear the narrator saying I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there’s gum in my hair.) I loved this story, even though it was sad, and to this day, “think of ten good things about them” is how I process every death I experience.
Strange to see the illustrations, though – this isn’t one I ever read with my eyes!