Rating: 
Summary: Much Better Than Expected
Review: "A part of this -- the part about what I learned in kindergarten -- was passed around the country until it took on a life of its own. One day it was sent home in the knapsack of a child whose mother is a literary agent..." (Robert Fulghum) Thus history was written -- serendipitous indeed. I have read the chain message, which lists these gems, many times from various Internet friends, throughout the years. Many of the phrases are clichés now because of the truth within the words.Finding fragments of our own lives in these pages is easy. Fulghum consolidated his extensive Credo of life into a simpler format, such as: "Remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned -- the biggest word of all -- is LOOK." Look both ways... look into the heart of the matter... look at yourself... look at history... look what happened... look at what you missed.... All of the kindergarten principles are found in the first three pages, and then Fulghum reveals how he applied these ideals throughout his life. One example is his encounters with a neighbor who was a "raker and a shoveler." He picked up the leaves and shoveled away the snow, but with the attitude of you "can't let old Mother Nature get ahead of you," and considered Fulghum to be a lazy neighbor. The leaves pile up, become mulch, and make more earth. The snow melts and feeds the land. Nature has taken care of itself for a long time. I imagined someone going into the woods and everywhere else, daily gathering leaves in a constant frustrating battle, and at season's change shoveling the snow from one place to another. Of course, I would want the leaves raked up and the snow shoveled off the driveway and sidewalk, but my dad, who understood the cycle, put the greens in the garden. Fulghum shows the fallacy of gender encoding through a simple example about cars -- the Y chromosome does not mean a man knows about jumper cables. "Besides, this guy only asked me if I 'had' jumper cables, not if I knew how to 'use' them." He describes an incident where he and the stranded collaborator swaggered around, "being all macho and cool and talking automobile talk." They looked under the hood of the car, and there was no battery. "'Hell,' I said, 'there's your problem right there. Somebody stole your battery.'" In these marvelous vignettes, Fulghum shows a simpler way to look at those things we confront in life. The book was first published in 1986, and it is still being published. Very few books survive this long -- only the good ones do. Five stars. Victoria Tarrani
Rating: 
Summary: Be aware of wonder.
Review: "A part of this -- the part about what I learned in kindergarten -- was passed around the country until it took on a life of its own. One day it was sent home in the knapsack of a child whose mother is a literary agent..." (Robert Fulghum) Thus history was written -- serendipitous indeed. I have read the chain message, which lists these gems, many times from various Internet friends, throughout the years. Many of the phrases are clichés now because of the truth within the words. Finding fragments of our own lives in these pages is easy. Fulghum consolidated his extensive Credo of life into a simpler format, such as: "Remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned -- the biggest word of all -- is LOOK." Look both ways... look into the heart of the matter... look at yourself... look at history... look what happened... look at what you missed.... All of the kindergarten principles are found in the first three pages, and then Fulghum reveals how he applied these ideals throughout his life. One example is his encounters with a neighbor who was a "raker and a shoveler." He picked up the leaves and shoveled away the snow, but with the attitude of you "can't let old Mother Nature get ahead of you," and considered Fulghum to be a lazy neighbor. The leaves pile up, become mulch, and make more earth. The snow melts and feeds the land. Nature has taken care of itself for a long time. I imagined someone going into the woods and everywhere else, daily gathering leaves in a constant frustrating battle, and at season's change shoveling the snow from one place to another. Of course, I would want the leaves raked up and the snow shoveled off the driveway and sidewalk, but my dad, who understood the cycle, put the greens in the garden. Fulghum shows the fallacy of gender encoding through a simple example about cars -- the Y chromosome does not mean a man knows about jumper cables. "Besides, this guy only asked me if I 'had' jumper cables, not if I knew how to 'use' them." He describes an incident where he and the stranded collaborator swaggered around, "being all macho and cool and talking automobile talk." They looked under the hood of the car, and there was no battery. "'Hell,' I said, 'there's your problem right there. Somebody stole your battery.'" In these marvelous vignettes, Fulghum shows a simpler way to look at those things we confront in life. The book was first published in 1986, and it is still being published. Very few books survive this long -- only the good ones do. Five stars. Victoria Tarrani
Rating:
Summary: Small miracles
Review: 51 short essays. Each of them is like a small miracle. Fulgham has an incredible talent to notice small common things, that usually remain overlooked by us, and then write two page stories about them. The simplicity of his writing is his main strength. He can put things in the right perspective. He shows his opinion on what really matters and what only seems to be important. Robert Fulghum must really love life. His essays are his way of celebrating it. Slow down, read this book and think about what you do and who you are.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST read for fans of the original & all others!
Review: ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
by Robert Fulghum is one of my all-time favorite books . . . it is a
collection of essays that reflect the author's thoughts on life, death
and a whole lot of other subjects in-between. So when I saw the 15th Anniversary Edition of the above, I naturally had to get hold of and then devour it . . . and
am glad I did . . . it's GREAT! It is also quite different . . . or as the subtitle indicates, it is
"reconsidered, revised, and expanded with 25 new essays." I liked all the new entries, but also got a kick out of revisiting
the old ones . . . it was like being with friends I haven't seen before. Fulghum is that kind of author . . . once you read him, you'll
want to get everything else he has written: IT WAS ON FIRE
WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT, UH-OH and MAYBE (MAYBE
NOT) . . . you won't be disappointed in any of these, nor with
his latest work either. There were several memorable passages in the 15th Edition that
I had not come across before; among them: * "And so then what happened?" An urgent question out of the bedtime darkness, asked by my children,
when they and I were young. Just when I thought I had slam-dunked
a story-ending-just when I was certain the children were safely in the
arms of the sandman--a small, sleepy voice would plead, "So, then
what happened?" And no matter what I replied, the plea went on, "Please,
please, Daddy--tell the rest of the story." In cranky desperation, I would resort to apocalypse: "Suddenly a
comet hit the earth and blew everything to pieces." Silence. "What happened to the pieces?" "It doesn't matter. Everybody died a horrible death, especially
all the little children who were not asleep." I also tried, "The father
sold all the children who would not go to sleep to a passing gypsy
who ground them into sausage meat. The first children to be ground
up were those who would not stop asking questions." Go ahead, shame me. But it worked. Most of the time. On reflection,
I suspect such gory endings were what they really liked most. Perhaps
it was a scheme to see just how far I would go--to see how crazed
their father really was. Now I am dealing with grandchildren who have the same restless
minds. I am wilier now than I used to be. To the inevitable request
for more, I reply, "Only your father knows the rest of the story. Ask
him to finish it when you get home." * Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret
weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a
crisis developed, we would launch one first--before we tried
anything else. It would explode high in the air--explode softly--and
send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down
to earth--boxes of Crayolas. And we shouldn't go cheap either--not little
boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.
With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber
and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little
funny look on their faces and cover the word with imagination instead
of death. A child who touched one wouldn't have his hand blown off. * I recall an old Sufi story of a good man who was granted one
wish by God. The man said he would like to go about doing good
without knowing about it. God granted his wish. And then God
decided that it was such a good idea, he would grant that wish to
all human beings. And so it has been to this day.
Rating:
Summary: Warm Fuzzies
Review: All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a heartwarming, feel good book that touched me on an emotional level. It made me laugh, made me cry, and made me cry from laughing so hard! I think it's because his stories are real life accounts with a witty, humorous twist. I could actually see myself in the exact situations that he wrote about (which made me laugh even harder). I picked the book up and couldn't put it down until I had finished it; reading each story at least twice! Robert Fulghum is a must read...he is truly an inspiration
Rating: 
Summary: Have to disagree
Review: During the twelve minutes it took me to read this in the thrift shop, I found several statements that are of dubious worth. Milk and cookies are not good for the large number of people who suffer from lactose intolerance and struggle with obesity. Flushing five valuable gallons of potable water each time you use a toilet is not necessary or recommended in every situation, as well. Taking naps in the afternoon can disrupt one's sleep pattern at night and is hardly recommended for young, healthy adults. Fulghum should have stuck to rules governing social interaction rather than issue blanket statements on health, diet, and the environment that can hardly apply to all situations.
Rating: 
Summary: Over-rated
Review: For some reasons this book was recomended by mass media in Hong Kong. I read and found it very disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: For some reasons this book was recomended by mass media in Hong Kong. I read and found it very disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece for the soul
Review: Fulghum did a wonderfull job making me love, laugh, and appreciate life again. A good book for worriers, depressed, people who simply forgot to enjoy the small things of life (and who doesn't these days), or just people who like to spend some evening hours with garenteed amusement. Fulghums book makes me re-evaluate things as annoying as household dust (actually coming from the cosmic admoshpere!) and even got me to see the beauty of it. An American friend sent this book to me for my birthday (thanks Jana!) and now I've decided to buy them all! I hope the others can live up to the high expectations that Kindergarten left me with!
Rating:
Summary: Fluff and nuttiness
Review: Fulghum takes many potentially meaningful life experiences and reduces them to accessible, palatable superficiality -- the stuff worthy of Hallmark greeting cards. He needs to get to grade school at least, but college? Out of the question, I'm afraid. Fluff for these nutty times, indeed
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