The World According to Mister Rogers

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 18 AGO 2003

When he died in early 2003, Rogers was one of the most recognizable (and beloved) people on television, even though Mister Rogers' Neighborhood had actually stopped production a few years earlier. This small volume collects many of his writings from songs he wrote for the show to his acceptance speech at the Television Hall of Fame organized around themes like "The Courage to Be Yourself" and "We Are All Neighbors." The format is occasionally tantalizing: When he said, "I'm proud of you for the times you came in second, or third, or fourth, but what you did was the best you had ever done," was he talking to his TV neighbors, or to one of his own children? The few biographical hints his writings offer about the show's origins and his personal life, plus an introductory reminiscence by his widow, may leave many readers eager for a full biography. Every message is infused with a simplicity and sincerity that any child could understand, as when he describes September 11 as "what some people do when they don't know anything else to do with their anger." But ultimately the book isn't for kids, it's for adults who watched the show as children and reminds readers that before we learned everything we needed to know in kindergarten, or had our first taste of chicken soup for the soul, Rogers taught valuable lessons about playing make-believe, keeping one's promises, finding strength through helping others and not being afraid to cry.