So, here goes an attempt to review a book that I read recently. I got it at my local library (my happy place) a few weeks ago. The name of the book is "The Good Neighbor: the Life and Work of Fred Rogers" by Maxwell King. I found it to be a truthful and touching account of the life of a well-known figure who played an essential role in the childhood of millions of Americans during the '70s, '80s, and into the '90s.
The book is biographical, telling the story of Mister Rogers from his birth, upbringing, education, and his passion for the children he ministered to in his life. And "ministered" is the right word. He believed with his whole heart that God had called him to be a light in the lives of the children he came in contact with, and also the ones he visited with on a daily basis in his "television neighborhood." He actually was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church, with the special dispensation that his ministry was to children through the medium of television. He had to convince the board of ordination of the fact that this was a legitimate ministry, and it worked. After some wrangling with the Presbytery, he was ordained, and his official congregation was the children he loved.
And that is one of the main truths that I took away from this book. Page after page, his love for his fellow man, especially children, shone through. In one of the most impacting parts of the book, the author quotes several people who knew Mister Rogers talking about what made him different than other people. And every person in this particular section said the same thing. "What would Christ be like?" said one of his teachers from theological school. "He would be like Fred Rogers. He would encourage you to do right and help other people." Another long-time acquaintance said, "He was the most Christ-like person I ever knew."
What a testimony! Isn't that what we all want as Christians? Isn't that exactly what Jesus said to us in John 13:35? "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." It seems pretty clear that Mister Rogers lived this out. Was he perfect? No. But the driving theme of this book was his authenticity. He truly did his best to live what he believed in a way that had an impact on those around him. Certainly something we can all aspire to.
As a parent and teacher, I like Mister Rogers for another reason. He told children the truth... even when the truth was unpleasant. He didn't believe in shielding children from the scary things in this world, but preparing them to face by those things by giving them the tools they needed to do so.
When the goldfish dies, he doesn't stop rolling to replace it. He calmly removes the fish, talking about what "dead" means, and simply wraps it up in a paper towel and walks to the backyard and quietly buries the fish. He didn't shy away from hard topics that little children had to face like divorce (something that became more and more common as the years went on), death, fear, national tragedy, or just meanness. He simply explained in his calm, quiet way that these things are, and that they are scary or sad, but that if you have people in your life that love you, you can face them.
I find it interesting that there has been a bit of a revival of interest in Mister Rogers. There has been this book, published this year, a couple of movies about his life made in the last two years, and even a Google Doodle a couple of days ago. (Watch it here if you didn't get to see it... it was great!)
So, why this interest? Well, I've been giving it some thought, and I think it might come down to the two pillars that Mister Rogers held dear: love and truth. People are searching for these two qualities, and Mister Rogers shows us what it can look like in our everyday life. He gives us examples of how to show these two things in tangible ways, like drawing a picture for a sick friend, or sharing something we learned that was interesting to us with someone else, or inviting our friend to put his feet in a pool of water with us on a hot day. ( Go to 5:50 to see this example of neighborliness.)
So, do I recommend this book? Yes. And I encourage you to take a lesson or two from Mister Rogers. I know after I read it, it made me think about my own life, and what kind of impact I am having on the little people in my life. And I think we can all show a little more love to our neighbors. :)
