Fred Rogers' Heroes: Who's Helping America's Children

It's still a beautiful day in the neighborhood, if you know where to look. That's the word from Mr. Rogers in this anthology of four stories about people helping children. A Navajo elementary school principal, a black director of Project Peace (a mediation course for inner-city kids), a Latino dance teacher who combines Mexican folk dance and ballet, and a white farmer whose operation "Green Chimneys" tries to reach troubled kids through working with animals; these are the heroes profiled. While each has accomplished wonderful things with their young charges, the point of the presentation is not evident: no cohesive strategies are advanced, and there seems to be very little which connects the individuals spotlighted in the video (beyond a desire to work with children). Ultimately, then, this is a feel-good program; not necessarily a bad thing, but also neither a hard look at the real problems nor the needed solutions concerning America's youth today. An optional purchase. (R. Pitman)