N4L 063: "The Good Neighbor" by Maxwell King

Maxwell King brings us The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, the first full-length biography of American's unique and enduring icon. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Rogers' program that changed the face of children's television and influenced tens of millions of children, reaches its 5oth anniversary. Now, beginning with Rogers' childhood, King captures his life of kindness, compassion, and authenticity by drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents. Fred Rogers, whose life and work continue to be loved by multiple generations, is captured in The Good Neighbor as, above all, a champion of children. 00:15   Intro to Maxwell King’s book, The Good Neighbor 00:25   Background of Fred Rogers, children’s television personality 01:00   King given permission to write first full-length biography of Mr. Rogers 01:30   2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood 02:00   Intro to Maxwell King: author, journalist, former President of Heinz Endowments, former Executive Director of the Fred Rogers Center, CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation 03:00   King designs the book to have two lives: biography and academic source 03:30   How King gets involved in writing the book after meeting Rogers only twice 05:30   Rogers’ early life and background profoundly affect his life and work 06:45   King aims to explain how Fred becomes “Mr. Rogers” 08:00   His understanding mother listens to Fred, not as an adult but as an equal 08:45   Family’s wealth makes Rogers more of a target for mean kids 09:10   Bullies chase and call him “Fat Freddy”; runs to safety at neighbor’s house 09:40   Adults wrongly advise him, “Just pretend you don’t care.” 10:00   Transformative moment: refuses to adopt a strategy of not caring 10:30   Teenage Rogers turns sensitivities into strengths; becomes leader and scholar 11:30   Great reader and student of French and philosophy 12:40   At 10 years old, selects an ebonized Steinway concert grand piano 14:25   Wealthy grandmother keeps her promise to buy him piano, transforming his life 15:55   Rogers’ piano now sits in the Fred Rogers Center at St. Vincent’s College 16:45   Fills lonely early years with music and puppets 17:20   Channels his personas in iconic puppets (Lady Elaine Fairchilde, King Friday, Daniel Tiger) 18:30   Packs away puppets for years until he needs them in an emergency 20:00   Josie Carey, live character on The Children’s Corner, forms relationship with puppets 20:50   Carey and puppets model adult/child relationship 21:35   Unlikely friend: John Pastore of Senate Subcommittee of Communications 21:45   Their televised encounter becomes most studied clip of all time 22:30   Fred testifies to help save funding for public television 23:00   First and foremost, Rogers considers himself a friend and neighbor 23:20   Most important thing in Fred Rogers’ life 25:30   Rogers’ key tactic for presenting on television 26:10   Dr. Margaret McFarland, child psychologist, becomes Rogers’ lifelong mentor and friend 26:50   Works with Univ. of Pittsburg scholars: Benjamin Spock, T. Berry Brazelton, Erik Erickson, McFarland 27:30   Group dramatically reshapes child development philosophies and practices 29:00   They depart from Victorian notions; determine ages 0-3 most critical for development 29:30   Rogers longs to do more than entertain 29:50   Weaves child development learnings into Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood 30:00   Rogers’ program goes national in 1968 30:30   Helps promote what really matters in child development 31:40   Cares much more about content than presentation (in contrast to Sesame Street) 32:15   Opposes fast pacing in children’s television 32:45  Designs “theme weeks" to discuss difficult topics (divorce, war, loss) for 5 consecutive days 34:30   Leans into tough topics and keeps an intentionally slow pace, including silence 35:30   Story of Rogers’ courage: “Feeding the Fish” 37:15   Children never tire of lyrics from Rogers’ signature opening song and closing remarks 38:45   Recognizes universal values of respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and kindness 39:15   Rogers' core philosophy: “Slow down. Be kind.” 41:00   Teaches human values, letting Christianity shine through 42:00   Rogers character, style, and personality congruent (on and off screen) 42:45   King surprised by Rogers’ simple exterior and deeply complicated interior 43:15   After his death in 2003, Mr. Rogers’ ideas and influence live on 45:35   Recommendation: YouTube video of Fred Rogers testifying before the Senate committee Connect with us on social media! Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube  Website Special thanks! Music Credit Sound Editing Credit