Book Review: Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood by Melissa Wagner and Max Dalton

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
written by Melissa Wagner with art by Max Dalton (158.1 Wag)

This compact little hardback book gathers together quotes by Fred Rogers and memories of his iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood children’s series, under a variety of thematic chapters, including “You Are Special”, “Be a Helper”, “All Kinds of Feelings Are Okay”, “Don’t Forget the Fun”, “We Are All Neighbors” and more. Much like previous “All I Need to Know I Learned…” books by other authors, the main lessons are distilled into their most simplistic aphorisms, but the heart of how Mister Rogers addressed sensitive issues is still effectively captured.

I enjoyed revisiting the memories of growing up with Mister Rogers Neighborhood, which this book brought up for me, a child of the late 1960s/early 1970s. For anyone who didn’t grow up with Mister Rogers, this book may not hit its mark. My only real complaint was that I wasn’t a particular fan of the art throughout the book. Other readers may not have an issue with that, so if you’re looking for some good life lessons as doled out by Mister Rogers, give this one a try.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the films Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on DVD, or The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King or I’m Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan, and the various DVDs in the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood series owned by the libraries.] [ publisher’s page for Melissa Wagner ]

See Scott C’s review of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, here on BookGuide in April 2020
See Scott C’s review of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, here on BookGuide in November 2018
See Scott C’s review of The World According to Mister Rogers, here on BookGuide in June 2017

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke

Rules for a Knight
by Ethan Hawke

I’ll have to admit — I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was hoping to. Actor/author Ethan Hawke (Dead Poets Society, Gattaca, Training Day) put out this short volume of fictional essays in 2015, after compiling it over the course of a couple of years. It is framed as advice being passed down from noble knight Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke (ostensibly Ethan’s ancestor) to his children, written on the eve of Sir Thomas entering a great battle. Each short chapter starts with a “rule” for proper knightly behavior, followed by a short fictional “remembrance” of Sir Thomas, recollecting experiences he had during his own training for the knighthood. Topics of the “rules” include, Solitude, Humility, Gratitude, Pride, Cooperation, Friendship, Forgiveness, Honesty, Courage, Grace and ten more. Also included is a short “epic poem/song”, referenced within the text of the rest of the book.

Though fashioned as a legitimate historical document, it isn’t — Hawke weaves together influences from a variety of different philosophical backgrounds and theories, and includes attitudes or ideas that seem much more modern than the time period of the Knights would have allowed. None-the-less, all 20 of the “rules” are admirable, even if the faux “reality” of the examples used to illustrate the rules are unrealistic. Since Hawke wrote this as advice for his own kids, I’ll give him credit for a good read!

[ publisher’s official Rules for a Knight web page ] | [ Wikipedia page for Ethan Hawke ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Classy: Be a Lady, Not a Tramp

Classy: Be a Lady, Not a Tramp
by Derek Blasberg [YA Blasberg]

This non-fiction book is usually the type I would just flip through in order to note key points. However, I found myself reading this book of etiquette from cover to cover. The author, Derek Blasberg, uses wit and humor as well as examples of bad manners from his own past. He also added many pop culture elements and references to make his points interesting in what otherwise could have easily ended up being a dry read. I really enjoyed the author's examples of indiscretions made by many of today's out-of-control socialites, reality TV stars and actresses in a way that gets his point on how not to be a "self-entitled skank". The conduct of life content is useful for all adults, but the overall theme of the book is geared towards young-adult women. Derek Blasberg grew up in St. Louis Missouri, but moved to New York City after his high school graduation. He graduated with honors and degrees in Dramatic Literature and Journalism in 2004, and then started his first job as an assistant at American Vogue. Blasberg is now the Editor at Large of Conde Nast's premiere fashion website, Style.com, as well as the Editor at Large of Hearst Publications' fashion title Harper's Bazaar. -- recommended by Jessica H. - Walt Branch Library

[ official Derek Blasberg web site ]

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Snark

Snark: A Polemic in Seven Fits: [It's Mean, It's Personal, and It's Ruining Our Conversations]

by David Denby [809 Den]

I found Snark to be a very interesting read, but ultimately somewhat lacking. Denby tackles a topic that is incredibly huge -- the increasing use of uncivil, unpleasant, "attack"-oriented dialog, which has become the main modus operandi of columnists, political hacks, and discussion forum trolls. Throughout the course of his book-length essay, Denby offers an intriguing look at historical precedents to modern Snarkiness, all the way back to the early writer Juvenal. However, by the end of the book, although I had been disconcertedly entertained by some of his observations, I didn't really feel that Denby had succeeded in clearly enough identifying what distinguishes Snark (or snarkiness) from typical irony and/or vituperation or foaming-at-the-mouth ranting. If you're interested in the rapid degradation of common civility in public discourse, you'll probably appreciate Denby's examples and asides. If you're looking for a true academic exploration of the topic, Snark will probably fall a bit short of the mark for you. I'll definitely give Denby marks for being an entertaining writer, though -- he's a film critic for New Yorker magazine. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ David Denby on Wikipedia ]

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