All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Fifteenth Anniversary Edition Reconsidered, Revised, & Expanded With Twenty-Five New Essays (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) [Large Print] (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Reader)

Editorial Reviews

Review

?It is interesting how much of it applies not only to individuals, grown or small, but even to nations.?
?New York Daily News

?Within simplicity lies the sublime.?
?San Francisco Chronicle

?A healthy antidote to the horrors that pummel us in this dicey age.?
?The Baltimore Sun

?As universal as fresh air and invigorating as the fragrance of a Douglas fir.?
?Los Angeles Times -- Review

Review

“It is interesting how much of it applies not only to individuals, grown or small, but even to nations.”
–New York Daily News

“Within simplicity lies the sublime.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“A healthy antidote to the horrors that pummel us in this dicey age.”
–The Baltimore Sun

“As universal as fresh air and invigorating as the fragrance of a Douglas fir.”
–Los Angeles Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (October 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375432884
• ISBN-13: 978-0375432880
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,048,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #27 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( F ) > Fulghum, Robert

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorite books..., July 8, 2004

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
by Robert Fulghum 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 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.

2.0 out of 5 stars Why all the hype?, October 18, 2009

By	WiseWoman (South Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was alerted to this book in graduate school. Having a vague memory of it, I ordered a big print copy which arrived clean but with yellowy pages. Why all the hype? It's ok but sometimes I think it got a lot of fame because a distinguished male wrote it. Really, you can find better books!

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than 20 Years Ago, January 1, 2008

By	K. Miller - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read and lost the first publication of this neat little book, so my only legal option was to buy another copy. However, this one has many improvements. The large type I got used to real fast and it did make the delightful text easier to read. The "rest of the story" updates only made the book better. Since nearly all of the "chapters" are not longer than three pages the book is easy to read either at one setting or just whenever you have a little time. And while many of the stories are entertainingly funny, others are poignant and gives one some cause for pause from a hectic life to think about the subtile real values which often go unnoticed.