The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King

On Monday, November 4th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, The Good Neighbor: the life and work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King  Here are some of the comments readers made while discussing The Good Neighbor:

• What we learned from this book is that Rogers was not just a good neighbor and a good friend to children, but also a very good man. Everyone agreed that they were glad that they got to know this man through this biography.
• This book was a great reminder of the need for acceptance, kindness, being present, and choosing your words carefully with children.
• One of the strengths of this book is that it doubles as not just a history of early TV production, but also a primer on early-childhood education. We were surprised to learn how careful he was to consult with the top early-childhood education specialists. And we did not realized what a pioneer he was in television, public television and in children’s programming.
• One member said her favorite part was when he taught the children to “look for the helpers.”
• Fred Rogers' parents used their wealth to help the community and it also provided Fred the opportunity and connections to work in the field that gave him every opportunity to help children. We thought he could have done anything or nothing with his life as many do who are born into extreme wealth. It was clear to us that Fred realized that he had “helpers” and was thankful for it which he made clear when he would ask people to take 10 seconds and to think about the people who helped them in life.
• One thing that amazed the group was that when Mr. Rogers made friends with someone, it was a lifelong friendship.  He was great at keeping in touch which is a hard for most of us to do.
• We applauded his commitment to education before commercialism and thought it was wonderful.
• We talked about Rogers’ Senate testimony in 1969, when he made his appeal to Congress for funds for PBS.  Most of us who watched the video of that and the video of Jeff Erlanger from Wisconsin thought it was much more moving to watch than to read about.
• The Good Neighbor at times could feel repetitive, better editing should have been done so that we weren't hearing the same stories over and over again. But it was an engaging story with plenty of details.
• We did think the story about the phone call Susan Stamberg got from Daniel Striped Tiger to help her deal with her anxiety might have been a little out there, but as one member said, “it worked.”
• There was much for us to learn from this book and I think we came away with more appreciation for his work.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.