Daniel Tiger: Won't You Be His Neighbor?
Lexi Schaefers' preschoolers squeal with excitement. Their eyes are trained on an animated tiger dressed in a red hoodie and sneakers, peeking out of the TV at them.
These 3- and 4-year-olds at Shady Lane Preschool in Pittsburgh, Pa., sing along with the songs and laugh and mimic what the characters are doing onscreen.
It's been 13 years since Mister Rogers' Neighborhood went off the air and more than a decade since the passing of its host. But the world Fred Rogers created for preschool children — one that's safe, nurturing and accepting — lives on in a PBS program called Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.
The animated show is now in its second season. Much of it is produced in Pittsburgh — Rogers' hometown — and there's no question that kids love this show.
So who is Daniel Tiger?
"Daniel Tiger is a cat," says one of Schaefers' preschoolers, Teddy Weissberg. "He has stripes on him and on his ears," says Avery Kendall, another student. "He's just a tiger," says August Yoest.
But Daniel is a lot more than that. He's their friend, a 4-year-old who lives with his family. Some of his friends are animals; some of them are humans.
They're all based on characters from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. That show had a puppet, Daniel Tiger, who's now grown up. He's married, and he has his own son — also named Daniel — around whom this new show is built.
Schaefers says she grew up watching Mister Rogers, and sees the similarities: "Small things throughout the show, like his towel in the bathroom has the trolley on it, and his friends are all related to the characters from Mister Rogers."
Fred Rogers taught kids not to be afraid of new things. Four-year-old Daniel learns that same lesson with Mom Tiger. Like Mister Rogers, Daniel wears a red cardigan and sneakers. Even the music is similar.
We're living in an age of mounting anxiety about children, especially young children, and screen time. There are many conflicting ideas about its proper role in education.
But PBS, the pioneer in "educational" media, seems to have broken through parental resistance. Those nostalgic and emotional connections resonate with the 3- and 4-year-olds in Schaefers' class and many more; the show gets 36 million video streams a month.
"They know that he is a tiger on the show, but I think that they also relate to him as a boy that is their age," says Schaefers. "That's who he is: somebody like them."
Somebody like them — that's what Fred Rogers was to generations of children, and what this new show's creator set out to emulate with Daniel.
"I like to think that he embodies Fred in a lot of ways, but he really truly is his own character," says Angela Santomero.
From 'Blue's Clues' To Daniel
In the 1990s, Santomero's first television success was Blue's Clues, which also took cues from Mister Rogers.
Then one day, she got to meet her hero.
"I went over to him and said, in my New York way, I just want you to know the whole reason I went into television was because of you. I truly hope that what I do for kids has any, a little bit of an impact as you have for millions of kids and ... "
Fred Rogers poses on the Pittsburgh set of his television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1996.
Rogers stopped her mid-sentence, and she remembers him saying, "What's your name? Let's slow down, let's start over."
They forged a friendship. A few years later, after Rogers' death, his company contacted her about creating a new show.
Santomero says social and emotional learning through television is essentially a marriage between child development theory and research on how kids learn from media.
"They developed a whole curriculum based on Fred's research and teaching," says Linda Simensky, vice president of children's programming at PBS. "It's very carefully designed for a certain age group to get the rules of how the world works — to see what happens when things go right and when things go wrong."
The goal is to mirror, for millions of children, what Lexi Schaefers does daily in her classroom.
After the episode finishes, Schaefers asks her students if they've learned anything from it.
"Did Daniel Tiger do anything on the show that might help you play better with your baby sister?" she asks.
"Yes," one student shouts out, "like sharing things!"
She asks another question: "Was he happy about Daddy and Mommy having the baby with them when he wanted to talk or wanted to play?"
"Nope," another student replies. "He had to wait, he had to wait plenty of time."
The students sing, repeating the characters' song, "There's time for baby and time for you."
Mister Rogers couldn't have said it better himself.
Erika Beras is the behavioral health reporter at WESA-FM in Pittsburgh.
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This next story will not be news to parents with kids of a certain age. It's about the persistence of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Fred Rogers died years ago, but the program that's now captivated generations of kids is still around. In fact it inspired a spin off, "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood." This animated show is now in its second season. Much of it is produced in Pittsburgh, Fred Rogers' Hometown. That's where Erika Beras of member station WESA begins this story, in effect in Mr. Rogers' real neighborhood.
ERIKA BERAS, BYLINE: There's no question, kids love this show.
LEXI SCHAEFERS: We're going to go in Ms. Gina's office. And we're going to watch Daniel Tiger.
(LAUGHTER)
BERAS: That's Lexi Schaefers at Shady Lane preschool in Pittsburgh. She's agreed to let me watch an episode with her students. My first question - who is Daniel Tiger?
TEDDY: Daniel Tiger is a cat.
AVERY: He has stripes on him, and on his ears. He just lives in a house with his mom and dad, and his little sister.
AUGUST: He's just a tiger.
BERAS: Daniel's a lot more than that. At least to kids like Teddy Weisberg, Avery Kendall, Norse Lasser (ph) and August Yoest. He's their friend, a 4-year-old who lives with his family. Some of his friends are animals and some of them are humans. They're all based on characters from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." That show had a puppet, Daniel Tiger. Now he's grown-up, married and has his own son whom this new show is built around. Lexi Schaefers grew up watching Mr. Rogers and sees the similarities.
SCHAEFERS: Small things throughout the show like his towel in the bathroom, has the trolley on it. And his friends are all related to the characters from Mr. Rogers.
BERAS: Fred Rogers taught kids not to be afraid of new things.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD")
FRED ROGERS: (As Himself) (Singing) When we do something new. Let's talk about what we'll do.
BERAS: Four-year-old Daniel Tiger learns that same lesson with Mom Tiger.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD")
JAKE BEALE: (As Daniel Tiger) (Singing) When we do something new, like go to school. Let's talk about what we'll do.
BERAS: Both Mr. Rogers and Daniel wear red cardigan sweaters and sneakers. Even the music is similar.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD")
ROGERS: (As Himself) (Singing) It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD")
BEALE: (As Daniel Tiger) (Singing) It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won't you be my neighbor?
BERAS: All that pays off with these three and four year olds and millions more. The show gets 36 million video streams a month.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD")
BEALE: (As Daniel Tiger) Hi neighbor. It's me, Daniel Tiger. I just had breakfast, but I'm still in my pajamas.
(LAUGHTER)
BEALE: (As Daniel Tiger) Let's play Super Daniel.
SCHAEFERS: They know that he's a tiger on the show, but I think that they also relate to him as a boy that is their age. That's who he is to them. He's somebody like them.
BERAS: Somebody like them, which is what Fred Rogers was to generations of children. One of them was Angela Santomero, who grew up to create these new adventures with Daniel Tiger.
ANGELA SANTOMERO: I like to think that he embodies Fred in a lot of ways, but he truly is his own character.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD")
BEALE: (As Daniel Tiger) It is hard. What about me?
BERAS: In the episode the preschoolers are watching Daniel Tiger has a new baby sister.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD")
TED DYKSTRA: (As Dad Tiger) (Singing) There's time for you and baby, too.
SANTOMERO: Singing song - musical strategy is - that are cute and repetitive and rhyming and have all these little nuances that a commercial jingle could have, but they're all about feelings.
BERAS: Back in the '90s Santomero's first success was "Blues Clues," which took cues from Mr. Rogers. And then one day she got to meet her hero.
SANTOMERO: I was just deftly enamored. And went over to him and said in my New York way, you know, I just want you to know that the whole reason I went into television was because of you. And I truly hope that what I do for kids, you know, has any - a little bit of an impact of what you have for millions of kids around the world. And he just said, you know, what's your name? Let's slow down. Let's start over.
BERAS: They forged a friendship. A few years later after Rogers' death, his company contacted her about creating an new show. Santomero says social and emotional learning through television is essentially a marriage between child development theory and theory of how kids learn from media. The goal is to mirror for millions of children what Lexi Schaefers does in the classroom.
SCHAEFERS: Does Daniel Tiger do anything on the show that might help you to play better with your baby sister?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: Yes.
SCHAEFERS: Like what?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Like sharing things.
SCHAEFERS: Like sharing things.
BERAS: The show has lessons she can build on with her students.
SCHAEFERS: Was he happy about daddy and mommy having the baby with them when he wanted to talk or wanted to play?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #3: No.
SCHAEFERS: What did he have to do?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #4: He had to wait.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #5: Time for baby and time for you.
BERAS: Mr. Rogers couldn't have said it better himself. For NPR News I'm Erika Beras in Pittsburgh. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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