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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I was very eager to read this book and am glad that I finished it but must agree with others that the book was far too repetitive. We would be told about an event from Fred Rogers's life, and then would be told about it again from the perspective of everyone who was involved in the event. This was just a little too much repetition to make this an engaging read despite my desire to reconnect with my favorite neighbor.
Incredible biography, a must read for fans of Mr. Rogers.
A comprehensive look into the life of our lovable neighbor, Mr. Rogers.
"There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." - Fred Rogers
The main takeaway from Rogers' life is that he really was who he showed himself to be. He really did love children, which started in his own childhood. He began as a 'rich kid' with loving parents, but it was a lonely life. Because of those difficulties, he gained many life-long values.
"I like you, just the way you are." - Fred Rogers
Another interesting focus is how much research and dedication he put into his show, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. He wrote most of the scripts himself, and reviewed his messages with a child psychologist.
"Childhood is not just clowns and balloons. In fact, childhood goes to the very heart of who we all become." - Fred Rogers
Audiobook notes: It was an inspired choice to use LeVar Burton (the host of Reading Rainbow to narrate this book.
"There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." - Fred Rogers
The main takeaway from Rogers' life is that he really was who he showed himself to be. He really did love children, which started in his own childhood. He began as a 'rich kid' with loving parents, but it was a lonely life. Because of those difficulties, he gained many life-long values.
"I like you, just the way you are." - Fred Rogers
Another interesting focus is how much research and dedication he put into his show, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. He wrote most of the scripts himself, and reviewed his messages with a child psychologist.
"Childhood is not just clowns and balloons. In fact, childhood goes to the very heart of who we all become." - Fred Rogers
Audiobook notes: It was an inspired choice to use LeVar Burton (the host of Reading Rainbow to narrate this book.
I loved Mr. Roger's Neighborhood as a child but I never knew what a awesome human being he was. His dedication to children was incredible. Great book!
First read: January 2019
I couldn't get into this, although I really want to. Again, like the John Cleese book, I couldn't get past the bits about his upbringing and childhood. I need it to move a little faster.
Side note: The audiobook is read by Levar Burton which is amazing.
I couldn't get into this, although I really want to. Again, like the John Cleese book, I couldn't get past the bits about his upbringing and childhood. I need it to move a little faster.
Side note: The audiobook is read by Levar Burton which is amazing.
This book was a little bit hard to get through - taking me almost a month to finish. It didn’t help that I read some other books at the same time.
Fred Rogers grew up with lots of family money, but also isolated as an only child and an few friends at school. He had an amazing imagination and was quite creative. Once he fell into making TV episodes for children, he knew he was doing what he wanted to do, and he did it well.
Fred Rogers was also a musician and a Presbyterian pastor. He truly was the same person on & off the TV: kind, soft spoken, caring. He also had steel, fighting for what he believed it 100%.
Famous Quotes:
• Look for the helpers. You can always find the helpers
• It’s you I like
• I like you just the way you are
Fred Rogers grew up with lots of family money, but also isolated as an only child and an few friends at school. He had an amazing imagination and was quite creative. Once he fell into making TV episodes for children, he knew he was doing what he wanted to do, and he did it well.
Fred Rogers was also a musician and a Presbyterian pastor. He truly was the same person on & off the TV: kind, soft spoken, caring. He also had steel, fighting for what he believed it 100%.
Famous Quotes:
• Look for the helpers. You can always find the helpers
• It’s you I like
• I like you just the way you are
I watched Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood growing up, and that’s really all I knew of Fred Rogers. This book was eye-opening and heartfelt and I’m really happy to have read it. The dedication that Rogers had for children and their education was fierce and unending. I was amazed to read about how particular he was about the wording that was used on the show, and how much time he’d spend trying to think of things from a child’s perspective, and what things they’d want to know about that day’s topic. Another thing I thought really showed the character of Rogers was that he refused on multiple counts to allow advertising towards children during his show, or allow toys/items from his show to be manufactured for children; he didn’t think it was fair or right to capitalize on how popular his show had become, because all he cared about was providing that safe learning space for kids. Even while in public, if a child approached him, he would get down on their level and spend as much time talking to them as they needed, because he strongly believed that every child needed to feel like they mattered. There’s a lot more than this that was equally great in this book, and I recommend it for fans of his!
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Fred Rogers is such an inspirational human and being able to read about his life’s work is something I am grateful for.
As for the writing of this biography, it was captivating yet reused anecdotes multiple times. It went in depth in some aspects of Rogers’ life but skipped out on others. For example: you hear about his parents and grandparents in terms of how they impacted his childhood and when he started his career in television, but not any years beyond that that I can recall. This is my reintroduction into biographies, as I used to read them all the time, and I am glad of it. The structure (despite repetition) was nice. Chronological for the most part, but flexible at times.
The narration of the audiobook was done well.
I cried. Twice.
As for the writing of this biography, it was captivating yet reused anecdotes multiple times. It went in depth in some aspects of Rogers’ life but skipped out on others. For example: you hear about his parents and grandparents in terms of how they impacted his childhood and when he started his career in television, but not any years beyond that that I can recall. This is my reintroduction into biographies, as I used to read them all the time, and I am glad of it. The structure (despite repetition) was nice. Chronological for the most part, but flexible at times.
The narration of the audiobook was done well.
I cried. Twice.
When this audiobook opened up with the theme song to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that made me tear up.
Fred Rogers is a legend and officially my childhood hero. I absolutely loved Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as a child - from the catchy theme song, to Mr. Rogers' relaxed demeanor, and to the interesting lessons and stories and interactions with the puppets.
Throughout the week, I would listening to this audiobook over the speakers in my kitchen while doing some cooking and cleaning. My mom would occasionally pop in and listen in on some sections. Although my mom has never watched any of Fred Rogers' shows, she was quickly drawn into the audiobook and thought Fred Rogers seemed like a wonderful person and felt that he should have gone into politics.
If I thought I loved Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood before, then I love it even more now. Especially now that I know that the Mr. Rogers that we see on screen is exactly who he was off-screen - a calm, humble, nice, and genuinely caring person who passionately advocated for educational television programming by creating quality segments for child development and education.
While I did enjoy this book, I'll admit that it was also unnecessarily long - many sections could have definitely been cut out. I got a bit annoyed near the end from all the repetitive stories and phrases. For example, "Fred Rogers was just as he was in person as he was in television" and other variations of this sentence was repeated over and over in pretty much every chapter (and after every anecdote). We get it! Fred Rogers was authentic and genuine. No need to remind the reader in every single chapter. The readers are smart enough to figure that out from all the stories about Mr. Rogers. If the goal of this book is to let readers know that Fred Rogers was truly an amazing human being, then kudos to [a:Maxwell King|15660970|Maxwell King|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] because that message has been received, loud and clear.
Despite the repetitiveness of the stories, I thought the introduction was excellent and many of the stories were interesting and inspiring (especially the parts about the behind-the-scenes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood). I am definitely convinced that Fred Rogers was a saint (good job King, mission accomplished).
Some related videos to check out:
- The Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Intro
- The Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episode with Jeff Erlanger (the boy in the wheelchair) singing "It's You I Like
- Fred Rogers testifying before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications (which made me realize that Jim Parsons looks and talks just like a young Fred Rogers)
- The Mr. Rodney Burger King Commercial that was taken down at the request of Fred Rogers
This was simultaneously more interesting and more dull than I thought it would be.