The series of “Thoughts for the Week” offers us insight into Fred Rogers’ goals with each week of programs he produced. During this week, Mister Rogers talks about moving quickly versus moving slowly. He points out that people with the same name are still different people. Later in the week, he talks about the voting process and how elections are about winning and losing. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, the neighbors learn that Planet Purple, a planet where everyone is the same, has now changed its rules.
Citizens are allowed to be different and express their individuality. Lady Elaine Fairchilde, the discoverer of Planet Purple, is excited to hear about her friends. She wants to have an election in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to change its name, but a survey concludes that the neighbors do not want to change.
Fred Rogers first sketched out the idea for this story in 1950. Josephine is a giraffe with a short neck who is desperate for her neck to grow so she will look like her parents and other giraffes. In 1989, Fred produced the story as an opera for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Mister Rogers first sang this song in 1972 in an episode when he talked about history in general—and then his own history. This song might be particularly helpful for children who are dealing with a new baby in the family, or for children who are feeling like they are not big enough or old enough to do certain things.
This clip of Daniel Tiger and Lady Aberlin is from "Making Mistakes" week. Inspired by events that happened earlier in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Daniel is thinking about mistakes. He wonders if he is a mistake because he is tame and lives in a clock, unlike any other tigers he knows.
The Fred Rogers Institute Archivist is available for requests and inquiries from students and researchers.