Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

- Season 21

(1990)

Mister Rogers has a laughing box and shows different ways to laugh. He visits Brockett's Bakery to help decorate cookies with different shaped mouths that show different feelings. In Make-Believe, Lady Aberlin is researching laughing.

Mister Rogers plays with tubes to create different sounds. A friend tells the story of "Button Broth." In Make-Believe, Lady Aberlin does research on how the neighbors react to a laughing box. Some are afraid that there's a person inside.

Mister Rogers shows a video of how people make toothbrushes in a factory. In Make-Believe, Lady Aberlin has some fun pretending to be a tiger with big teeth. Mister Rogers reminds children even with a costume you're still yourself inside.

Mister Rogers visits a dentist's office where he gets a checkup and shows some of the things there - the dentist's gloves and mask, the chair and light, the x-ray equipment. In Make-Believe, Lady Aberlin is dressed in a tiger costume.

Mister Rogers plays with a toy earth mover, shows a video of a real earth-moving machine and reads "Are You My Mother?" These big machines seem to have big teeth. He shows a video of how people make toothpaste.

Mister Rogers plays with toy cars and shows a video about how people make them. Playing with toy things can help children get ready for real grown-up things. In Make-Believe, there's news of a mysterious "Big Thing" that's on its way.

Mister Rogers goes to a conservatory to see different plants growing there. He plants a bean seed and reminds children that even though we can't see it, all living things grow. In Make-Believe, the neighbors wonder about the "Big Thing."

Mister Rogers talks about children growing to be adults. He shows how a cat grew from a little kitten and a photo album of babies and toddlers and the different ways they are growing. In Make-Believe, the "Big Thing" finally arrives.

Mister Rogers goes to his own barber to get his hair cut and helps children know that the barber cuts only hair and that it doesn't hurt. In Make-Believe, the mysterious "Big Thing" that has come to visit is starting to grow.

Mister Rogers visits with an old friend, Francois Clemmons, who performs with his Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. In Make-Believe, the "Big Thing" sprouts a big flower. It's great to know that everyone is growing in some way.

Mister Rogers shows how to make a simple mask out of a paper bag, assuring children that dressing up doesn't change us inside. Dancers wear masks in "The Raccoon Ballet," and In Make-Believe, the school children prepare for a dress-up play.

Mister Rogers visits the library for story hour where children play charades, guessing people's jobs. In Make-Believe, the school children get costumes for their play. Prince Tuesday plays dress-up with his father's crown - and loses it!

Rogers shows a few wigs and glasses, all of which disguise his appearance. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, attention seems to shift away from the school play and more toward finding King Friday's spare crown.

Mister Rogers visits the Boys' Choir of Harlem, meeting young singers with disciplined voices who dress in fancy choir robes to perform. In Make-Believe, King Friday's crown is found after the Neighborhood is literally turned upside-down.

At the dress-up play at the school In Make-Believe, the children learn they're more important than costumes they wear. Neighbor Maggie Stewart visits Mister Rogers dressed up as "Mr. McFeely," bringing a video of how people make sweaters.