Ebook: Dear Mr. Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?: Letters to Mr. Rogers

 

Every question that a child or parent asks is important, and no one understood that better than Fred Rogers, the iconic television neighbor who visited our homes for decades. In this moving collection of letters to him and his replies, he encourages parents and teachers to cherish the questions and comments that come from children and crafts caring, thoughtful responses to them. With deep sensitivity and sincerity, he addresses real-life issues in chapters arranged by theme: his life, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, feelings and fears, family relationships, and even grief. Drawing on a lifetime of studying and considering healthy child development, this unique gathering of correspondence offers a timeless guide to childhood as well as parenting.

 

Dear Mister Rogers is an inspiration to parents and educators and a delight for all those interested in the unique way children see and wonder about the world.

 

From Booklist

TV's incomparable but--he stoutly hopes--imitable Mister Rogers once more shares his skill at communicating to young children, this time by publishing children's letters to him, adults' letters about their children, and his responses to them. He arrays them in chapters entitled with phrases that reflect the kinds of questions ("Are you real?" "Do you have a job?" etc.) and childhood concerns ("Sometimes it's hard to behave," "My brother copies everything I do," etc.) that letter writers most often present to him. His replies are characteristically gentle and authoritative. He encourages children to speak about their feelings and what is on their minds, and he counsels parents to listen and respond truthfully and appropriately to their child's age and temperament. Quite often, he uses the lyrics of a song from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood to make his point in a manner that faithful viewers will recognize. In short, this is a book of modeling for parents, although one that carefully brings forth many adult correspondents to Mister Rogers who are as caring and warmheartedly canny with young children as he is. Ray Olson

 

From the Back Cover

Every question a child or parent asks is important, and no one understands this better than the television Neighbor who has visited our homes for more than two decades. In this collection of letters and replies, Mister Rogers encourages parents, grandparents, and teachers to cherish the questions and comments that come from their children. With sincerity and sensitivity, real-life issues are addressed in chapters arranged by theme - the world, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, feelings and fears, television, family relationships, and death. Based on his lifelong studies in child development, Fred Rogers offers a thoughtful perspective on childhood and parenting. Dear Mister Rogers is an inspiration to parents and educators and a delight for all those interested in the unique way children see the world and wonder about it.

 

About the Author

Fred Rogers (1928–2003) was a producer, writer, magician, puppeteer, minister, husband, and father who began working in children’s television in the 1950s and created the PBS program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He pioneered “programming that spoke, with respect, to the concerns of early childhood, not as adults see it but as children feel it.” For his work, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Peabody Award, and numerous other honors. The Television Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, and the Smithsonian Institution displays one of his sweaters as a “treasure of American history.” He founded Family Communications, Inc., now Fred Rogers Productions, a not-for-profit company that continues to develop programming, special projects, and materials that help children learn and grow, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.