the good neighbor the life and work of fred rogers

Rogers has been criticized for promoting a culture of televisual passivity and coddling-he once retaped a scene in which a pot of popcorn overflowed because he thought the spillage might frighten young viewers-but King’s hagiography skirts those issues. In King’s glowing portrait, Rogers, who was also a Presbyterian minister, was a protector of family values-he refused to advertise merchandise to kids-as well as an exemplar of “caring, kindness and modesty,” who was dubbed “the most Christ-like human being I have ever encountered” by a fellow clergyman. Rogers became famous for his show, which blended puppets, songs, conversational lessons on everything from cleaning up messes to weathering divorce, and reassurances that kids are fine the way they are, all based on the latest child-development theories. King, a former Philadelphia Inquirer editor who knew Fred Rogers before his death, paints him as a genius with an uncanny rapport with children-sprouted from boyhood struggles with wealthy, smothering parents, bullies, and asthma-and a determination to alleviate their angst. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.The creator and host of the 1968–2001 children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was a paragon of friendliness, according to this adulatory biography.

The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure. It includes his surprising decision to walk away from the show in 1976 to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood to help children face complex issues such as divorce, discipline, mistakes, anger, and competition. The Good Neighbor is the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers.īased on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, The Good Neighbor traces Rogers's personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work.

As the creator and star of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness, fiercely devoted to children and taking their questions about the world seriously. The definitive biography of Fred Rogers, children's television pioneer and American cultural icon, an instant New York Times Bestsellerįred Rogers (1928-2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television.

The good neighbor the life and work of fred rogers