Kindness and Wonder by Gavin Edwards

Kindness and Wonder by Gavin Edwards

A pop culture celebration of Fred Rogers and the enduring legacy of his beloved, award-winning PBS show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood that offers essential wisdom to help us in our troubled times.

Won't you be my neighbor?

For more than thirty years, Fred Rogers was a beloved fixture in American homes. Warm and welcoming, he spoke directly to children--and their parents--about the marvels of the world, the things that worried them, and above all, the importance of being themselves. Dressed in his cardigan and sneakers, Fred Rogers offered a wholesome message of generosity and love that changed the landscape of television and shaped a generation of children. Kindness and Wonder pays tribute to this cultural icon: the unique, gentle man who embodied the best of what we could be. Today's audiences will be reminded of Mr. Rogers's uplifting persona in the TriStar Pictures film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, where Tom Hanks stars as the real-life Fred Rogers.

Looking back at the history of the show and the creative visionary behind it, pop culture aficionado Gavin Edwards reminds us of the indelible lessons and insights that Mister Rogers conveyed--what it means to be a good person, to be open-hearted, to be thoughtful, to be curious, to be compassionate--and why they matter. Beautifully crafted, infused with Mister Rogers' gentle spirit, and featuring dozens of interviews with people whose lives were touched by Fred Rogers--ranging from Rita Moreno to NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann--Kindness and Wonder is a love letter to this unforgettable cultural hero and role model, and the beautiful neighborhood he created.

The Tao of Bill Murray, Last Night at the Viper Club, Can I Say (authored with Travis Barker), VJ (written with the original MTV VJs), and 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Man' are among Gavin Edwards' nine New York Times bestselling novels. He has written a dozen cover stories for Rolling Stone, traversed the world from Bahrain to New Zealand, and attended the Grammys on a city bus as a longstanding contributing editor. He and his wife, as well as their two sons, live in Charlotte, North Carolina.