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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Excellent biography on Mister Rogers read by Levar Burton. I learned things I hadn’t known before. Makes me respect him more.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I liked the content but didn't like the writing. I didn't cry when the ebook was returned automatically to the library before I was finished.
What a great book and a terrific audio recording. Pair LeVar Burton with Mr. Rogers and it's nostalgiafest 2018 (in a good way!). If you grew up watching Mr. Rogers, this is a must read.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
He was a nice man who strived to be good and had every advantage in life. It's a nice story but not very exciting
This was an okay book on one of the best people that has ever walked on Earth. Rogers was born into a wealthy family that offered him a chance to make decisions that he might not have had the opportunity pursue had the family money not been behind him. That being said he was a very religious man that walked the walk. He focused on how children learned and communicated and used his show to teach all of us how to be better people. He was truly a special man and we should all try to enact on what he taught us to make the world a better place.
actually more like 3.5 stars - this was very dense at times and needed tighter editing - but rounding it up to 4 stars because i truly like this man and what he stood for. this book did remind me again how lucky we were to have him with us growing up.
and, hearing/reading him say "i like you just the way you are" gets me every time. <3
and, hearing/reading him say "i like you just the way you are" gets me every time. <3
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, won’t you be mine, won’t you be mine, won’t you be my neighbor?
Just hearing this opening line brings back so many wonderful memories for me! Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was one of the shows I used to watch almost religiously back as a child growing up in the 1980s. Even though I moved on to other shows when I became an adult, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood had left such an impression on me that many of the “lessons” I had learned from the show continue to stay with me even now. I loved so many aspects of the show back then: the songs, the puppets, the adventures, and of course, the gentle soul with the soothing voice who brought everything together for us day in and day out – yes, Fred Rogers was my childhood hero, the father figure I wish I’d had.
Given the above, it should come as no surprise that when I found out a few months ago about a new biography being published about Fred Rogers’s life and his iconic show, I just knew that this was a book I absolutely had to read. I was disappointed when I wasn’t able to get my hands on an advance copy prior to publication, but luckily, my library came through for me and I was finally able to secure a copy to read (though only after having to wait several weeks on the “hold” list). Reading this book was quite an emotional experience for me, as it not only brought back many fond memories of the show, it also gave me so much insight into the life of Fred Rogers and the one-of-a-kind person he was. Prior to reading this biography, I had no idea how much effort had gone into producing his show and how every aspect of the production – from the dialogue to the music to the puppetry, even such things as the length of each episode -- was meticulously thought out. What stood out for me the most though was how genuinely Mister Rogers cared about children and how devoted he was to their education and overall well-being. One of the things that made Fred Rogers truly unique, especially for someone in the world of showbiz, was the fact that “what you saw was what you got” – meaning that the gentle, kind fatherly figure you saw on the TV screen, he was the exact same way in real life. As Mister Rogers had said in previous interviews, he was neither an actor nor an entertainer, he was always just being himself. It’s interesting that back then, his view that children should be respected for who they are and their thoughts and feelings should be respected as well, was actually considered “radical” thought, with some critics likening it to “coddling” children to the point of spoiling them, yet later on, as thoughts on child development evolved and progressed, his viewpoint was actually welcomed, encouraged and even held up as the “gold” standard for how to treat children.
I will be honest in saying that I find it impossible to sum up the legacy of Fred Rogers and how much he meant to those of us who grew up watching his show, in one biography about his life, regardless of how substantive or thorough that biography is -- which is why, for me, this review is so hard to write because I know I will never be able to give it the justice it deserves. In that sense, this book is a breath of fresh air in that, given the negativity-filled world we live in today, it is a nostalgic reprieve and a reminder of what it means to be a genuinely humble, honest, kind person who truly cared about others. As far as “celebrity” biographies go, this one I would definitely recommend, not because it was particularly well-written (in fact, the writing was actually the worse part of this book to be honest – the other reviews that mentioned the repetitiveness of the writing were actually spot-on). Rather, this book should be read for its subject matter and, perhaps, as a rare positive boost given the current world we live in today.
Just hearing this opening line brings back so many wonderful memories for me! Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was one of the shows I used to watch almost religiously back as a child growing up in the 1980s. Even though I moved on to other shows when I became an adult, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood had left such an impression on me that many of the “lessons” I had learned from the show continue to stay with me even now. I loved so many aspects of the show back then: the songs, the puppets, the adventures, and of course, the gentle soul with the soothing voice who brought everything together for us day in and day out – yes, Fred Rogers was my childhood hero, the father figure I wish I’d had.
Given the above, it should come as no surprise that when I found out a few months ago about a new biography being published about Fred Rogers’s life and his iconic show, I just knew that this was a book I absolutely had to read. I was disappointed when I wasn’t able to get my hands on an advance copy prior to publication, but luckily, my library came through for me and I was finally able to secure a copy to read (though only after having to wait several weeks on the “hold” list). Reading this book was quite an emotional experience for me, as it not only brought back many fond memories of the show, it also gave me so much insight into the life of Fred Rogers and the one-of-a-kind person he was. Prior to reading this biography, I had no idea how much effort had gone into producing his show and how every aspect of the production – from the dialogue to the music to the puppetry, even such things as the length of each episode -- was meticulously thought out. What stood out for me the most though was how genuinely Mister Rogers cared about children and how devoted he was to their education and overall well-being. One of the things that made Fred Rogers truly unique, especially for someone in the world of showbiz, was the fact that “what you saw was what you got” – meaning that the gentle, kind fatherly figure you saw on the TV screen, he was the exact same way in real life. As Mister Rogers had said in previous interviews, he was neither an actor nor an entertainer, he was always just being himself. It’s interesting that back then, his view that children should be respected for who they are and their thoughts and feelings should be respected as well, was actually considered “radical” thought, with some critics likening it to “coddling” children to the point of spoiling them, yet later on, as thoughts on child development evolved and progressed, his viewpoint was actually welcomed, encouraged and even held up as the “gold” standard for how to treat children.
I will be honest in saying that I find it impossible to sum up the legacy of Fred Rogers and how much he meant to those of us who grew up watching his show, in one biography about his life, regardless of how substantive or thorough that biography is -- which is why, for me, this review is so hard to write because I know I will never be able to give it the justice it deserves. In that sense, this book is a breath of fresh air in that, given the negativity-filled world we live in today, it is a nostalgic reprieve and a reminder of what it means to be a genuinely humble, honest, kind person who truly cared about others. As far as “celebrity” biographies go, this one I would definitely recommend, not because it was particularly well-written (in fact, the writing was actually the worse part of this book to be honest – the other reviews that mentioned the repetitiveness of the writing were actually spot-on). Rather, this book should be read for its subject matter and, perhaps, as a rare positive boost given the current world we live in today.
A revealing look at Fred Rogers. A hero but interesting that he had psychological issues that he also had to deal with.