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disheveledfox 's review for:
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell King
The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King is a biography that covers the life of Fred Rogers, from early childhood to his rather sudden death. As a child, I always enjoyed catching reruns of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood - his intro song was like a warm hug and was my favorite part of the show. I couldn't wait to listen to the book - it's narrated by none other than LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow, and is the first biography on Fred Rogers!
Did I like the biography? Yes. Was it everything I dreamed of? Sadly, no. Here are a few of the thoughts I walked away with once I'd finished the book:
-The Good Neighbor is the first book that Maxwell King has written, and it shows. Repetitious, each chapter seems to be written as its own little island which begs for topics and people to be painfully mentioned and discussed time and again.
-When Mr. King encourages Fred Rogers' widow and sons to find someone to write Fred's biography, they ask Mr. King to write it instead. Unfortunately, Mr. King was the director of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College whose mission was to raise funds for the Rogers Center. What better way to raise funds than to write a glowing saint's biography on the man! I am all about believing that Fred Rogers was a near-perfect man, but it makes for a disappointing read when all you hear over and OVER is how gentle, and patient, and caring he was. Forgive me, but I was hoping to meet more of the man and his relationships outside of work. I wanted to know more about his strained relationship with his two sons, and his wonderfully giving and supportive mother.
-I wished I purchased more Kleenex before this read - I cried every friggin' time Mr. Rogers interacted with children and said 'I like you just the way you are.'
-With a 14 hour listen, you tend to pick up on a narrator's quirks. I've listened to LeVar Burton's narration so many times I can't even count (check out his podcast 'LeVar Burton Reads'!), but this time somethings wasn't clicking for me - the narration detracted as often as it helped.
I give this three stars for the writing, and five for the subject and his inspiration. May we all be called to serve and love humanity as Fred Rogers did. <3
Did I like the biography? Yes. Was it everything I dreamed of? Sadly, no. Here are a few of the thoughts I walked away with once I'd finished the book:
-The Good Neighbor is the first book that Maxwell King has written, and it shows. Repetitious, each chapter seems to be written as its own little island which begs for topics and people to be painfully mentioned and discussed time and again.
-When Mr. King encourages Fred Rogers' widow and sons to find someone to write Fred's biography, they ask Mr. King to write it instead. Unfortunately, Mr. King was the director of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College whose mission was to raise funds for the Rogers Center. What better way to raise funds than to write a glowing saint's biography on the man! I am all about believing that Fred Rogers was a near-perfect man, but it makes for a disappointing read when all you hear over and OVER is how gentle, and patient, and caring he was. Forgive me, but I was hoping to meet more of the man and his relationships outside of work. I wanted to know more about his strained relationship with his two sons, and his wonderfully giving and supportive mother.
-I wished I purchased more Kleenex before this read - I cried every friggin' time Mr. Rogers interacted with children and said 'I like you just the way you are.'
-With a 14 hour listen, you tend to pick up on a narrator's quirks. I've listened to LeVar Burton's narration so many times I can't even count (check out his podcast 'LeVar Burton Reads'!), but this time somethings wasn't clicking for me - the narration detracted as often as it helped.
I give this three stars for the writing, and five for the subject and his inspiration. May we all be called to serve and love humanity as Fred Rogers did. <3