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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
As for me, I prefer the God of Fred Rogers to the God of Roger Ailes.
I adore Fred Rogers so much, and my adoration only deepens as I learn more about him. He was such a wonderful, kind man who made people feel seen, acknowledged, and valued. This biography was a bit repetitive in parts and a bit dry in parts, but I still really enjoyed it and loved learning more about Mister Rogers, his life, and his work.
So many wonderful stories, excerpts, and quotations, it's hard to choose my favorites, but here are some:
"Fred Rogers never--ever--let the urgency of work or life impede his focus on what he saw as basic human values: integrity, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion, and of course his signature value, kindness."
"He worried about the lack of silence in a noisy world and pondered how those in the field of television could encourage reflection."
"His lesson is as simple and direct as Fred was: Human kindness will always make life better."
"His elders advised him to meet bullying with indifference: 'The advice I got from the grown-ups was, "Just let on you don't care, then nobody will bother you."' But he did care; more than anything in the world, Fred Rogers cared. It was caring that defined the character of his mother, and it was caring that increasingly influenced the evolving character of this shy but resolute young boy. Fred never accepted the advice that pretending not to care would alleviate his loneliness and pain."
"'[McFarland] said that attitudes aren't taught, they're caught. If the teacher has an attitude of enthusiasm for the subject, the student catches that whether the student is in second grade or is in graduate school. She said that if you show them what you love, they'll get it and they'll want to get it.' Fred Rogers remembered that when McFarland wanted to expose the little children at the Arsenal Center to the work of a sculptor, she gave these instructions to the artist she invited to visit her classes: 'I don't want you to teach sculpting. All I want you to do is to love clay in front of the children.'"
"'What Fred understood and was very direct and articulate about was that the inner life of children was deadly serious to them.'"
"This is Rogers's signature message: feelings are all right, whatever is mentionable is manageable, however confusing and scary life may become. Even with death and loss and pain, it's okay to feel all of it, and then go on."
"'There's a story that when Fred walked into the studio each day, he said a silent prayer. "Dear Lord--let some word of this be Yours."'"
"'Please, think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their day care, their health, their education--please listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them.'"
"One of the fundamental things that Fred Rogers understood [...] is that it is perfectly appropriate for children to be utterly different from grown-ups. They are not little adults, just like their parents, but smaller. They have a unique perspective, and they have a special job to do: learning."
So many wonderful stories, excerpts, and quotations, it's hard to choose my favorites, but here are some:
"Fred Rogers never--ever--let the urgency of work or life impede his focus on what he saw as basic human values: integrity, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion, and of course his signature value, kindness."
"He worried about the lack of silence in a noisy world and pondered how those in the field of television could encourage reflection."
"His lesson is as simple and direct as Fred was: Human kindness will always make life better."
"His elders advised him to meet bullying with indifference: 'The advice I got from the grown-ups was, "Just let on you don't care, then nobody will bother you."' But he did care; more than anything in the world, Fred Rogers cared. It was caring that defined the character of his mother, and it was caring that increasingly influenced the evolving character of this shy but resolute young boy. Fred never accepted the advice that pretending not to care would alleviate his loneliness and pain."
"'[McFarland] said that attitudes aren't taught, they're caught. If the teacher has an attitude of enthusiasm for the subject, the student catches that whether the student is in second grade or is in graduate school. She said that if you show them what you love, they'll get it and they'll want to get it.' Fred Rogers remembered that when McFarland wanted to expose the little children at the Arsenal Center to the work of a sculptor, she gave these instructions to the artist she invited to visit her classes: 'I don't want you to teach sculpting. All I want you to do is to love clay in front of the children.'"
"'What Fred understood and was very direct and articulate about was that the inner life of children was deadly serious to them.'"
"This is Rogers's signature message: feelings are all right, whatever is mentionable is manageable, however confusing and scary life may become. Even with death and loss and pain, it's okay to feel all of it, and then go on."
"'There's a story that when Fred walked into the studio each day, he said a silent prayer. "Dear Lord--let some word of this be Yours."'"
"'Please, think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their day care, their health, their education--please listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them.'"
"One of the fundamental things that Fred Rogers understood [...] is that it is perfectly appropriate for children to be utterly different from grown-ups. They are not little adults, just like their parents, but smaller. They have a unique perspective, and they have a special job to do: learning."
A very thorough, but repetitive look at Mr Rogers. He truly was a special person.
Very thoughtful account of his life! I really enjoyed learning so much about who he was and of all his work!
Mr. Rogers was a special man with a good message. This book could have been good...if it were half as long. Many stories were repeated and it was like being hit over the head with the same information over and over. I found it almost unbearably boring.
I’m glad to have read this book. Mr Rogers just makes me want to be a better person. The audiobook was first rate with LeVar Burton as the narrator (it just couldn’t get more nostalgic than that!) However, the writing was very repetitive and I wish it would have focused more on his personal life. Other than that, it was a good read!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood when I was little, and I have always loved Mr. Rogers and his characters. However, I didn't know much about his personal life (aside from the fact that his mom knitted those cardigans). This was a really lovely portrait of a wonderful human being. I enjoyed seeing how Mr. Rogers developed his content and how hard he worked to make kids like me feel special and understood. I was happy to learn that he was the same kind and thoughtful person off screen too.
My only (minor) critique is that I wish the author had included more about Fred's parents in the latter part of the book. They are very central to his life at the beginning, but after he gets married, the author barely mentions them again. It would be interesting to see how they reacted to his success, his family, and to seeing their son on tv.
My only (minor) critique is that I wish the author had included more about Fred's parents in the latter part of the book. They are very central to his life at the beginning, but after he gets married, the author barely mentions them again. It would be interesting to see how they reacted to his success, his family, and to seeing their son on tv.
I listened to this book and found it interesting, but at times it seemed long.
14 hours, even if I do speed it up, is a little long for my attention span.
14 hours, even if I do speed it up, is a little long for my attention span.
I really enjoyed learning more about Mr. Roger’s and his impact on so many children and educators during his life. A lot of his practices are things I was taught in college. We really were lucky to have had him guiding so many future educators and loving children so well.
"One of the most radical figures of contemporary history never ran a country or led a battle. ... He became a legend by wearing a cardigan and taking off his shoes.... Rogers was a genius of empathy... fearless enough to be kind."
"The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away."
"Most of us, I believe, admire strength. It's something we tend to respect in others, desire for ourselves, and wish for our children. Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength with other words -- like aggression and even violence. Real strength is neither male nor female; but it is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can possess."
"One of the most radical figures of contemporary history never ran a country or led a battle. ... He became a legend by wearing a cardigan and taking off his shoes.... Rogers was a genius of empathy... fearless enough to be kind."
"The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away."
"Most of us, I believe, admire strength. It's something we tend to respect in others, desire for ourselves, and wish for our children. Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength with other words -- like aggression and even violence. Real strength is neither male nor female; but it is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can possess."