This book illuminates and examines the world of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood through world design, narrative, genre, form, content, authorship, reception and more.

Mark J. P. Wolf is a Full Professor and Department Chair of the Communication Department at Concordia University, Wisconsin. His books include Abstracting Reality, The Medium of the Video Game, Virtual Morality, The Video Game Explosion, Myst and Riven: The World of the D'ni, Before the Crash, Encyclopedia of Video Games, Building Imaginary Worlds, The LEGO Studies Reader, and Video Games Around the World. With Bernard Perron, he is the co-editor of The Video Game Theory Reader 1 and 2, and the Landmark Video Game book series.

Chapter 1. Welcome to the Neighborhood

Early Children's Television

A Typical Day in the Neighborhood

Visual Style and Performance Style

Serious Play and Playful Seriousness

Chapter 2. A History of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Rogers' Early Career

From Misterogers to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

The Post-Hiatus Years

Chapter 3. The Neighborhoods: Interconnected Spaces and Places

The "Real" Neighborhoods: Pittsburgh and the Television Neighborhood

The Neighborhood of Make-Believe and Surrounding Areas

World-building and Intertextual References

Chapter 4. The Neighbors: A Diverse Sociological and Ontological Spectrum

Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and More

A Diverse Ontological Spectrum

A Neighbor Just Like You: Interpersonal Conflict and Resolution

Chapter 5. "And I'll Have More Ideas for You": Ideology and the Neighborhood

Slowness, Silence, and Reflection

Finding the Value in Others

Freshness of Vision: Through the Eyes of a Child

Chapter 6. Mister Rogers' Legacy

Projects Concurrent with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

After the Neighborhood

List of Episodes

Resources

Notes