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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
slow-paced
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
We need to remember what Mr. Rogers taught us.
We need men to emulate Mr. Rogers and not most of the toxic dudes who young men seem to idolize nowadays.
We need men to emulate Mr. Rogers and not most of the toxic dudes who young men seem to idolize nowadays.
Initial review:
Review to come. Brillant, informative, inspiring.
It's you I like, just the way you are.
Full review:
“Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?” Odds are if you were of preschool age anywhere from the late 1960s to the late 1990s, you have probably just song those lines, and then some. Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was a fixture in many households at a pivotal moment in time for so many young children, and Maxwell King’s biography tries to shed some light on the wonderful neighbor we all had in Mr. Rogers. He explores Mr. Rogers’ early childhood, the environment he grew up in which helped shape the man he became, the various influences in his life and philosophy, as well as how he came not only to conceive and produce Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, but to be our neighbor Mr. Rogers, to several generations of children. From and with the input of renowned child psychologist Margaret McFarland to the energy of a child running up to say hello to him, Mr. Rogers inspired and guided us through our earliest days where the world was still so new and incredible, and we weren’t always sure how to understand it.
LeVar Burton narrates this biography of Mr. Fred Rogers, and helps us engage with the text as maybe just reading it on the page might not quite do. I listened to most of this through some long car rides, and even after a couple hours of listening, I still wanted to keep going and hear more. Since I would listen to it in such large chunks, I thought that was why I found the repetition, for example, of “child development expert Margaret McFarland” (or similar phrasing) every time she was mentioned a bit too frequent, but apparently others reading it on paper too noticed it. So yes, there is a little repetition, but you can easily argue it is a way of emulating Fredish – with a regular repetition to encourage information to be heard and processed. King was thorough in his research, delving into personal correspondence and interviews with people close to Mr. Rogers, and weaves it all together into a fine tapestry to give us a portrait of the man so many of us considered a friend growing up. Mr. Rogers’ story is inspirational, and his legacy is one to be actively honored in the ways we connect with and interact with children, whether it is in-person or on television. Together, we can make it “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
Some Favorite Quotes:
Like most good things, teaching has to do with honesty. – Part 2, Chapter 8, 5:22:57
And what a good feeling to feel like this. And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there’s something deep inside that helps us become what we can. For a girl to be someday a lady, and a boy, someday a man. – Part 8, Chapter 11, 6:42:41
Steps to Fredish:
1) State the idea you wish to express as clearly as possible, and in terms preschoolers can understand.
2) Rephrase in a positive manner.
3) Rephrase idea bearing in mind that preschoolers cannot yet make subtle distinctions, and need to be redirected to authorities they trust.
4) Rephrase idea to eliminate all elements that can be considered to be prescriptive, directive, or instructive.
5) Rephrase any element that suggests certainty.
6) Rephrase idea to eliminate any element that may not apply to all children.
7) Add a simple motivational idea that gives preschoolers a reason to follow your advice.
8) Rephrase new statement repeating step one.
9) Rephrase idea a final time, relating it to some phase of development a preschooler can understand.
Part 8, Chapter 12, 7:00:45
Fun factoid: On Fred Rogers’ guest appearance on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman: Deal with the Devil, he plays a frontier minister
Though Rogers made a show based on his Christian values, he never tried to impose his beliefs on staff members who were Jewish or not particularly religious. […long-time staffer Heda Sharopan said,] “Spirituality was in the air. It was in the walls. It was in Fred’s office, and it was in my office, because Fred brought it with him. And I don’t know how I would describe spirituality except as kind of goodness, thoughtfulness.” Part 9, Chapter 13, 7:49:55
Fred Rogers felt very strongly, backed by the research of child development mentors, that the most effective gift to young children is nurturing the capacity for self-discipline, rather than the imposition of it. He recognized the importance and value of outside discipline, but he thought lasting benefit for the child came from developing the ability to concentrate and hold yourself accountable for your own actions. Fred Rogers was committed to helping young children find and evolve their own capacities, including that of self-discipline, because he believed it would make them stronger adults. He famously declared, “I think of discipline as the continual everyday process, helping a child learn self-discipline.” Part 12, Chapter 19, 11:10:23
“You know, it may well be that our planet, Earth, is the only spot in the entire universe which can sustain human life. Of all the worlds, we may be the only one where there has ever been, or ever will be, people. That’s sort of like someone saying to you there is only one square inch of soil on this Earth that can grow anything, and that square inch happens to be in your own backyard. You look at that soil of yours with infinitely greater appreciation when you become aware how rare and valuable it is.” – Part 13, Chapter 22, 12:35:10
As he lay comatose, shortly before he died, his friend Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, Chancellor of St Vincent College, came to the Rogers’ apartment in Pittsburgh to administer the last rites of the Catholic Church. […Joann later explained that Fred] would have been pleased to receive Catholic last rites just before dying as a Presbyterian. – Part 13, Chapter 24, 13:12:03
Fred Rogers doesn’t offer an answer for today’s profound dilemmas. Nor does he offer an escape from them. But he does offer a philosophy, an approach, that can enable us to better manage through the struggle. He offers the idea of slowing down, way down, Fred-time, to get to a calmer place from which to work. He offers an idea of simplicity, of reducing things to their most constructive, most elemental, Fredish, a base from which to build understanding. He urges us to value our global citizens just the way they are. No matter their skin color or religious affiliation. – Part 14, Chapter 25, 13:39:20
Review to come. Brillant, informative, inspiring.
It's you I like, just the way you are.
Full review:
“Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?” Odds are if you were of preschool age anywhere from the late 1960s to the late 1990s, you have probably just song those lines, and then some. Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was a fixture in many households at a pivotal moment in time for so many young children, and Maxwell King’s biography tries to shed some light on the wonderful neighbor we all had in Mr. Rogers. He explores Mr. Rogers’ early childhood, the environment he grew up in which helped shape the man he became, the various influences in his life and philosophy, as well as how he came not only to conceive and produce Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, but to be our neighbor Mr. Rogers, to several generations of children. From and with the input of renowned child psychologist Margaret McFarland to the energy of a child running up to say hello to him, Mr. Rogers inspired and guided us through our earliest days where the world was still so new and incredible, and we weren’t always sure how to understand it.
LeVar Burton narrates this biography of Mr. Fred Rogers, and helps us engage with the text as maybe just reading it on the page might not quite do. I listened to most of this through some long car rides, and even after a couple hours of listening, I still wanted to keep going and hear more. Since I would listen to it in such large chunks, I thought that was why I found the repetition, for example, of “child development expert Margaret McFarland” (or similar phrasing) every time she was mentioned a bit too frequent, but apparently others reading it on paper too noticed it. So yes, there is a little repetition, but you can easily argue it is a way of emulating Fredish – with a regular repetition to encourage information to be heard and processed. King was thorough in his research, delving into personal correspondence and interviews with people close to Mr. Rogers, and weaves it all together into a fine tapestry to give us a portrait of the man so many of us considered a friend growing up. Mr. Rogers’ story is inspirational, and his legacy is one to be actively honored in the ways we connect with and interact with children, whether it is in-person or on television. Together, we can make it “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
Some Favorite Quotes:
Like most good things, teaching has to do with honesty. – Part 2, Chapter 8, 5:22:57
And what a good feeling to feel like this. And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there’s something deep inside that helps us become what we can. For a girl to be someday a lady, and a boy, someday a man. – Part 8, Chapter 11, 6:42:41
Steps to Fredish:
1) State the idea you wish to express as clearly as possible, and in terms preschoolers can understand.
2) Rephrase in a positive manner.
3) Rephrase idea bearing in mind that preschoolers cannot yet make subtle distinctions, and need to be redirected to authorities they trust.
4) Rephrase idea to eliminate all elements that can be considered to be prescriptive, directive, or instructive.
5) Rephrase any element that suggests certainty.
6) Rephrase idea to eliminate any element that may not apply to all children.
7) Add a simple motivational idea that gives preschoolers a reason to follow your advice.
8) Rephrase new statement repeating step one.
9) Rephrase idea a final time, relating it to some phase of development a preschooler can understand.
Part 8, Chapter 12, 7:00:45
Fun factoid: On Fred Rogers’ guest appearance on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman: Deal with the Devil, he plays a frontier minister
Though Rogers made a show based on his Christian values, he never tried to impose his beliefs on staff members who were Jewish or not particularly religious. […long-time staffer Heda Sharopan said,] “Spirituality was in the air. It was in the walls. It was in Fred’s office, and it was in my office, because Fred brought it with him. And I don’t know how I would describe spirituality except as kind of goodness, thoughtfulness.” Part 9, Chapter 13, 7:49:55
Fred Rogers felt very strongly, backed by the research of child development mentors, that the most effective gift to young children is nurturing the capacity for self-discipline, rather than the imposition of it. He recognized the importance and value of outside discipline, but he thought lasting benefit for the child came from developing the ability to concentrate and hold yourself accountable for your own actions. Fred Rogers was committed to helping young children find and evolve their own capacities, including that of self-discipline, because he believed it would make them stronger adults. He famously declared, “I think of discipline as the continual everyday process, helping a child learn self-discipline.” Part 12, Chapter 19, 11:10:23
“You know, it may well be that our planet, Earth, is the only spot in the entire universe which can sustain human life. Of all the worlds, we may be the only one where there has ever been, or ever will be, people. That’s sort of like someone saying to you there is only one square inch of soil on this Earth that can grow anything, and that square inch happens to be in your own backyard. You look at that soil of yours with infinitely greater appreciation when you become aware how rare and valuable it is.” – Part 13, Chapter 22, 12:35:10
As he lay comatose, shortly before he died, his friend Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, Chancellor of St Vincent College, came to the Rogers’ apartment in Pittsburgh to administer the last rites of the Catholic Church. […Joann later explained that Fred] would have been pleased to receive Catholic last rites just before dying as a Presbyterian. – Part 13, Chapter 24, 13:12:03
Fred Rogers doesn’t offer an answer for today’s profound dilemmas. Nor does he offer an escape from them. But he does offer a philosophy, an approach, that can enable us to better manage through the struggle. He offers the idea of slowing down, way down, Fred-time, to get to a calmer place from which to work. He offers an idea of simplicity, of reducing things to their most constructive, most elemental, Fredish, a base from which to build understanding. He urges us to value our global citizens just the way they are. No matter their skin color or religious affiliation. – Part 14, Chapter 25, 13:39:20
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
A good biography of an extraordinary man. My one issue is the lack of information on Rogers’ spiritual life overall, which seems to have been much more important than the place given to it here. It’s there, I just think, from other works I’ve read about Rogers, that it wasn’t given as central a place.
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
I learned so much about Mr. Rogers throughout this book and the audiobook is excellently narrated by Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow.
The biopic A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood with Tom Hanks is most certainly worth the watch as well.
The biopic A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood with Tom Hanks is most certainly worth the watch as well.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
This book definitely feels like it could’ve gone through another editing session.
There are quite a few repeated lines of dialogue and information. There were multiple times throughout listening to the audio book where i had Deja-vu or wondered if i accidentally somehow skipped back a few chapters.
It could’ve been trimmed down for sure, and I wish other aspects of Fred’s life were more deeply explored.
overall a quaint & hopeful listen. reminds you there’s still kindness in the world. wouldn’t recommend to anyone who isn’t already super interested in Fred Rogers. The biographical movie is probably a better starting point than this (although I haven’t seen it yet).
—————————————————-
my favorite take-away from reading this book was that one of Mr Rogers strongest core values was that it is okay to feel how we feel. feeling makes us special, and it makes us different.
it’s such an important lesson to learn at any age; noticing the emotions we feel. Rogers puts emphasis on the fact it’s okay to feel. finding healthy ways to express emotions that don’t hurt ourselves or others, is difficult. but it’s essential for us to feel the things we’re feeling, in order to grow.
As someone who still struggles with shame & guilt complexes, Mr Rogers Neighborhood episodes remind me to be patient, take it one step at a time, and not to beat myself up.
so it’s reassuring to read that he was just as gentle in his every day life off screen as well.
there’s just something so inspiring about this man’s life. despite his many differences and insanely privileged upbringing, he still managed to connect with so many human beings on a genuine level. just by not being afraid to be vulnerable and sincere. there was no need to. he simply had a passion for human connection. and that’s such an admirable trait we should all strive for.
Fred Rogers just understood the assignment- of life. be kind, considerate, and gentle.
There are quite a few repeated lines of dialogue and information. There were multiple times throughout listening to the audio book where i had Deja-vu or wondered if i accidentally somehow skipped back a few chapters.
It could’ve been trimmed down for sure, and I wish other aspects of Fred’s life were more deeply explored.
overall a quaint & hopeful listen. reminds you there’s still kindness in the world. wouldn’t recommend to anyone who isn’t already super interested in Fred Rogers. The biographical movie is probably a better starting point than this (although I haven’t seen it yet).
—————————————————-
my favorite take-away from reading this book was that one of Mr Rogers strongest core values was that it is okay to feel how we feel. feeling makes us special, and it makes us different.
it’s such an important lesson to learn at any age; noticing the emotions we feel. Rogers puts emphasis on the fact it’s okay to feel. finding healthy ways to express emotions that don’t hurt ourselves or others, is difficult. but it’s essential for us to feel the things we’re feeling, in order to grow.
As someone who still struggles with shame & guilt complexes, Mr Rogers Neighborhood episodes remind me to be patient, take it one step at a time, and not to beat myself up.
so it’s reassuring to read that he was just as gentle in his every day life off screen as well.
there’s just something so inspiring about this man’s life. despite his many differences and insanely privileged upbringing, he still managed to connect with so many human beings on a genuine level. just by not being afraid to be vulnerable and sincere. there was no need to. he simply had a passion for human connection. and that’s such an admirable trait we should all strive for.
Fred Rogers just understood the assignment- of life. be kind, considerate, and gentle.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced