Mister Rogers' Neighborhood 1979 - 2001

Classical guitarist Manuel Barrueco plays Bach. Mister Rogers says a magnifying glass doesn't help if you can't read, but it can help children learn to look carefully at things, which is an important reading readiness skill.

Mister Rogers uses art forms to illustrate words. The word "fish" goes with a graceful ballerina dancing on a "river." A "Night and Day" poem connects with a video. In Make-Believe, a neighbor is embarrassed he can't read well and hides.

Some children read words, and some "read" pictures. Mister Rogers has a toy truck and a video of different trucks at work. In Make-Believe, H.J. Elephant realizes he can read -- sign language! And there's a video of how artists make paper.

Mister Rogers has baseball caps, a game matching words to symbols on the caps, and a factory video showing how people make caps. In Make-Believe, the "Reading Game Show" is a success, and everyone learns there are many ways to read.

Mister Rogers finds a 500 pound baby - at the zoo! It's a baby elephant, and he learns how its mother and the zookeeper care for it. There's a video of how people make backpacks, and In Make-Believe, the King wants to see inside one.