The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers

A couple years ago, I was doing something online and saw The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor by Amy Hollingsworth. I wanted to read it, but I couldn't find it at the library--so I asked for it for Christmas and got it this past week. :) The book description reads, "For more than 30 years, Fred Rogers was the kindly neighbor of children worldwide. Why were kids drawn to him? Mining personal interviews and correspondence, this book goes beyond Rogers's gentle manner and signature red sweater to reveal the deep faith that sustained him in his many roles—television personality, educator, philosopher, and minister."

This was a great read. I finished it in pretty much one sitting on a long airline flight, and it was an engaging book. Even though I didn't watch much Mister Rogers as a kid, I've been a big fan of his as an adult as I've seen some articles and videos that highlight important messages he taught children. (My two favorite examples: episode with Officer Clemmons and episode with Jeff Erlanger, a child in a wheelchair) I liked reading this book and seeing the impact of faith on Mister Rogers's decisions to go into television and what he focused on in his work. The last pages share Mister Rogers's words about what he would want people to know if he had one final opportunity to address his television neighbors. He said, "I would want [those] who were listening somehow to now that they had unique value, that there isn't anyone in the whole world exactly like them and that there never has been and there never will be. And that they are loved by the Person who created them, in a unique way. If they could know that and really know it and have that behind their eyes, they could look with those eyes on their neighbor and realize, 'My neighbor has unique value too; there's never been anybody in the whole world like my neighbor, and there never will be.' If they could value that person--if they could love that person--in ways that we know that the Eternal loves us, then I would be very grateful." I really loved that. This book focused on the author's interactions with Fred Rogers after she interviewed him and then began a years-long friendship. In some ways, I liked this because it helped me see what Mister Rogers was like in these kind of day-to-day relationships/interactions. In other ways, I wish this was more of an autobiography by Fred Rogers himself so I could get his take on things rather than the author's interpretation of her interactions. But overall it was a great read.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)