The Good Neighbor

The Life and Work of Fred Rogers

By: Maxwell King

Narrated by: LeVar Burton

Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Fred Rogers (1928-2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. As the creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness. Rogers was fiercely devoted to children and to taking their fears, concerns, and questions about the world seriously.

The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this utterly unique and enduring American icon. Drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, Maxwell King traces Rogers’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work, including a surprising decision to walk away from the show to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood with increasingly sophisticated episodes, written in collaboration with experts on childhood development. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by multiple generations.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2018 Maxwell King (P)2018 Oasis Audio

Critic reviews

"[Narrator LeVar] Burton joyfully offers rich glimpses of a man whose greatest concern was ensuring that all those he encountered knew they were important and valued. Enhanced by Burton's excellent narration, this exceptional audiobook honoring Fred Rogers is sure to encourage each listener to be a good neighbor." (AudioFile)

Always loved Fred Rogers

This audiobook is excellent, I highly recommend it to anyone that grew up watching Mr. Rogers. Our world could use many more people like him. There will never be anyone like him.

Fantastic Book

A wonderful read about TV's most beloved neighbor Mr. Rogers! I miss you Mr. Rogers!

For full review: https://katiegreviews.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/review-the-good-neighbor-the-life-and-work-of-fred-rogers-by-maxwell-king-narrated-by-levar-burton/

Good read with a few exceptions

I enjoyed this story and loved hearing all of the details about Fred Rogers’ life; however, some of the parts became laborious to listen to when they went into such great detail about the other people that Fred encountered throughout his career. Those facts made the book longer than it needed to be. Still enjoyed it though and have an even deeper appreciation for who he was.

A Must Read

Such a heartwarming story of someone who influenced my own childhood in a positive way. Highly recommended!

The unconditional love inside the puppets.

I consider Mister Rogers my bonus father. I grew up with a caring and generous dad it taught me how to work on a car and be his son and pigtails. Mister Rogers taught me how to be kind and a collector of lost souls.

You can’t rate this poorly because it’s Mr. Rogers

But it definitely has some flaws.

The story of Fred Rogers and his life always deserves 5 stars, but this particular biography is distractingly repetitive at times. While it is informative, I would not call it skillfully written. Lavar Burton’s performance is great, though.

Biography excellent

I loved this, thought I got bogged down in some of the details. I have to go find all the articles about Fred Rogers.

An excellent biography of Fred Rogers

This is a biography of Fred Rogers, an icon of children's television for decades. Rogers' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was pioneering children's educational programming, premiering in 1968 and continuing, with a four-year hiatus, until 2001.

Rogers was more than just a tv performer, which I always knew, but also a great deal more than I was aware of. That he was a Presbyterian minister was well-known. Also the fact that he controlled the production of the show pretty completely.

What I didn't know was that he was an accomplished musician. Or that he was a composer and wrote most of the music and lyrics himself. Or that he studied early childhood education with some of the most distinguished experts in the field.

He was dedicated, serious, and knowledgeable, to an extent I hadn't imagined.

What's also interesting is the fact that this quiet, unassuming man, who lived and dressed very modestly and frugally, was from a very wealthy family. That wealth gave him the freedom to do what he thought was right with his tv show, to never commercialize the puppets and other props or advertise directly to children. It limited to some extent the reach of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which never had the ratings or profitability of Sesame Street,but it did have a very broad reach among they young children he most wanted to serve, and it delivered the message he wanted to deliver. That refusal to commercialize often drove people wanting to promote him bananas, but he held to his principles, and to the ability to do what he thought was best with his program.

This is a friendly but not an uncritical biography. Fred Rogers was a good man but no more perfect than the rest of us--and he would have been the first to say so. He did have a temper, and could be very rigid. The narration is by LeVar Burton, who is just a marvelously appropriate choice, and does a wonderful job.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

The depth of Fred Rogers' personal convictions and faith for everyone to charish.

As already a big fan of Mr Rogers, I had a bias going into this book and it lived up to its expectations. The author captured so much of Fred Rogers' early childhood and the impact his parents and grandparents had on him. People with means who were as charitable and giving as they were kind and his early development and Fred Rogers natural disposition for kindness and a desire to teach set him on the path to become one of the most impactful childhood development television personalities in the country and respect around the world. I wish everyone with children would read/listen to this book and watch the documentaries about Mr Rogers and his life. Kindness needs to make a return. Our world depends on it as do the children of the future.

Comprehensive biography of Fred Rogers!

Very detailed and comprehensive biography of Fred Rogers; including his childhood, upbringing, education, and influences which led to the remarkable man and childhood educator and cultural icon he became as Mister Rogers. This is beautifully narrated by LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow (and Star Trek) fame. I cannot imagine a better choice of narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having met Fred Rogers at WQED when volunteering there in the 70's and 80's, I will echo what many others have stated. Fred Rogers was exactly the same person in real life as he was on TV. So glad to have met everyone's favorite neighbor. Enjoy the book!