Hello Neighbor: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers by Matthew Cordell
To begin with...full disclosure..I grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and I LOVED it. It was one of my absolute favorite shows. To say I really enjoyed this book would be an understatement. So, where to begin... Fred Rogers was born in Pennsylvania and he loved music. By all accounts he was shy and he loved spending time with his family. One thing the family would do together was watch TV, but Fred wasn't impressed with much of what he saw. He felt there had to be more that could be done with TV shows. He went to New York City to learn how television shows are made by working for NBC. After learning what he could in New York he went home to Pennsylvania and started his own children's show, but this was NOT the show that he became famous for. While creating this first show he continued his education in college to learn more about how children learn and feel things. From there he created the show that he would be most famous for creating... Mr Rogers' Neighborhood. Mr Rogers' Neighborhood was used to teach children about the world around them in a calm way using music, real people, and puppets. The show also helped break down barriers for children by showing them that it was OK to be friends with people who may not look like you. So why do I like this book...other than it's about one of my favorite childhood shows. The book reminds me of the show. The story is told in a very gentle format. There is nothing "flashy" or "showy" about the book. The writing and illustrations are simple and easy to understand and share with a child. This is a book I can very easily share with a class of students that they will understand and still have questions that I can easily answer. I can honestly say that I'm really looking forward for a chance to share this book with my students. To learn more about Fred Rogers visit:
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