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When You Wonder You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids

Playful and practical, When You Wonder, You’re Learning introduces a new generation of families to the lessons of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. By exploring the science behind the iconic television program, the book reveals what Fred Rogers called the “tools for learning”: skills and mindsets that scientists now consider essential. These tools—curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and more—have been shown to boost everything from academic learning to children’s well-being, and they benefit kids of every background and age. They cost next to nothing to develop, and they hinge on the very things that make life worthwhile: self-acceptance; close, loving relationships; and a deep regard for one’s neighbor.

When You Wonder, You’re Learning shows parents and educators the many ways they might follow in Rogers’ footsteps, sharing his “tools for learning” with digital-age kids. With insights from thinkers, scientists, and teachers—many of whom worked with Rogers himself—the book is an essential exploration into how kids and their parents can excel at what Rogers taught best: being human.

Behr, Gregg, 2021. When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring KidsDurham, NC: Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University.