I’m Proud of You:
My Friendship with Fred Rogers
Tim Madigan
Non-Fiction, Published 2006
196 pages
http://pbskids.org/rogers/songlist/song12_ra.html
Read Oct. 2007
4.0/5.0
Why did you choose this book?
This book was given to me as a gift from my cousin. I grew up watching Mister Roger’s Neighborhood and even wrote to him for an eighth grade English assignment. The assignment was to write a persuasive letter to someone asking for something and if we got something back we were awarded extra credit points. So I decided to write to Mister Rogers, telling him what a great impact he had on my childhood. When I wrote, I never expected to get something back, thinking it was Mister Rogers! and surely he had better things to do than write me back…well he did and it stuck with me that he truly loved hearing about the differences he made and was not at all in it for the money. He sent me a nice personal letter along with an autographed picture and some things to give to my sister. This book follows Tim Madigan, a journalist from Ft. Worth, and his unlikely friendship with Mister Rogers.
What did you like most about the book?
I like the fact that the author emphasizes the fact that Mister Rogers was truly an unique soul and that he truly cared about the children and families that his show reached.
Book Quotes…
Fred hugged me at the front door of the television station when we finally said good-bye, telling me I was welcome in his Neighborhood anytime. By then it was mid-afternoon, another brilliant autumn day in a beautiful, bustling section of Pittsburgh. I walked slowly toward my nearby hotel through the sunshine, feeling almost disoriented by what I had experienced the previous three days. Throughout my life, I had been blessed by the love and friendship of many extraordinary people, but somehow, this man was different, a person possessed of an otherwordly purity and goodness. My newspaper assignment had thus become a pilgrimage, of sorts, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or so I assumed, to experience that sort of historic kindness. I knew it was a time I would always remember. (p.27)
My mother was praying in the basement one morning that weekend when the telephone rang. When she answered, she heard that soft, wonderful voice at the other end of the line.
“Is this Mrs. Madigan?” the voice said.
“Why, yes, it is.”
“This is Fred Rogers, calling from Pittsburgh.”
“Oh, my goodness,” my mother stuttered.
“I’m so very glad to meet you,” Fred said.
My mother stuttered again.
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mister Rogers,” she said. “Thanks so much for your call. Would you like to talk to Steve?” [Steve is Tim's, the author, brother who is diagnosed with and later dies from cancer.]
“Yes, I would, but only if he’s able.”
Mom dashed the wireless receiver upstairs and handed it to Steve in his bed. “It’s Mister Rogers!” she whispered. (p.131)
