本書從一句簡單卻誠實的開頭展開：Barney 是一隻貓，他在星期五過世了。家人為他辦了一場小小的告別式，也試著回想與他相處的美好時光。故事以孩子的視角，描寫面對失去時的困惑與悲傷。小男孩被請求說出十件關於 Barney 的好事，卻怎麼也想不起最後一件，直到與父親的對話，讓他慢慢理解失去與記憶的意義。由Judith Viorst以平靜而直接的語言書寫，搭配Erik Blegvad溫柔內斂的插畫，本書陪伴孩子認識死亡，如同生活中自然的一部分，是一本適合親子共讀、談論離別的經典作品。Barney was a cat. He died last Friday. And everyone was sad. They did what most people do when a cat they like dies. They had a funeral. And then they tried to think of good things about him. They wanted to remember him as he was; and they thought about some other things, too. 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.
