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32nd out of 112 books
—
93 voters
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
A book to raise the spirits and warm the heart. Includes the famous Kindergarten essay that was read on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Hardcover, 196 pages
Published
April 29th 1989
by Villard
(first published 1986)
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When I read this book years ago, my first thought was that it would make an excellent Christmas gift for anyone who I couldn't figure out what else to get. The simple philosophy of living that it promotes and the author's easy going style of prose would elicit a smile from a stone. I can't quite say that it changed my life, but I was certainly charmed by this book. It also taught me a lesson in the money making potential of publishing because I happened to work for Ballantine at the time and was...more
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Pretty much the BEST book I've ever read. I love the humor, but it also tells the truth, in a quirky sort of way. I really liked the insight that you got through out the whole book. Mr. Fulghum reminds me a lot of, well, ME. I thought it was stunning.
The only people who learned all they needed to know in kindergarten are the people who died when they were six. This stupid book is as facile as its title.
Jul 16, 2007
Malbadeen
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
hippies & cultivated garden haters
Shelves:
read-by-virtue-of-proximity
the lecture series that accompanies this book can be called: how I will display my self actualization to judge your lawn care habits.
I don't remember much about this book except the over all sense that the author was pretty pleased with himself. I remember one part where he talked about his carefree acceptance of natures impression on his yard by explaining how silly his neighbor was to rake his leaves and mow the lawn.
I didn't do a ton of gardening at the time (nor do I now) but I remember thi...more
I don't remember much about this book except the over all sense that the author was pretty pleased with himself. I remember one part where he talked about his carefree acceptance of natures impression on his yard by explaining how silly his neighbor was to rake his leaves and mow the lawn.
I didn't do a ton of gardening at the time (nor do I now) but I remember thi...more
Overall, this book was extremely disappointing and horribly misleading. A group of my friends are currently performing the musical version, and I've seen it multiple times. It was fantastic. I was so touched that I decided to look for the full book. I was treated to an awful surprise: most of the heartwarming and inspirational stories in the script are not in the original book.
All of the ancedotes I loved from the musical are gone, including the most fantastic passage about the meaning of life,...more
All of the ancedotes I loved from the musical are gone, including the most fantastic passage about the meaning of life,...more
Já vlastně nevím, co o téhle knížce psát. Tak jsem si říkal, že nenapíšu nic. Ale to by zase bylo škoda, nic nepsat. Takže přeci to zkusím.
"VŠECHNO, CO OPRAVDU POTŘEBUJI ZNÁT o tom, jak žít, co dělat a jak vůbec být, jsem se naučil v mateřské školce. Moudrost mě nečekala na vrcholu hory zvané postgraduál, ale na pískovišti v nedělní škole. Tohle jsem se naučil:
O všechno se rozděl. Hraj fér. Nikoho nebij. Vracej věci tam, kde jsi je našel. Uklízej po sobě. Neber si nic, co ti nepatří. Když někomu...more
"VŠECHNO, CO OPRAVDU POTŘEBUJI ZNÁT o tom, jak žít, co dělat a jak vůbec být, jsem se naučil v mateřské školce. Moudrost mě nečekala na vrcholu hory zvané postgraduál, ale na pískovišti v nedělní škole. Tohle jsem se naučil:
O všechno se rozděl. Hraj fér. Nikoho nebij. Vracej věci tam, kde jsi je našel. Uklízej po sobě. Neber si nic, co ti nepatří. Když někomu...more
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Book Review: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten - Robert Fulghum
Surprise 1: The book is listed at MS
Surprise 2: There is only 1 review on such a marvelous book till date
Before coming to the contents and other details of this book, let me create an atmosphere by phrasing some basic facts (and some queries), you are free to agree or disagree on each point:1. You will be bli...more
Book Review: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten - Robert Fulghum
Surprise 1: The book is listed at MS
Surprise 2: There is only 1 review on such a marvelous book till date
Before coming to the contents and other details of this book, let me create an atmosphere by phrasing some basic facts (and some queries), you are free to agree or disagree on each point:1. You will be bli...more
A few days ago, I ran across this book on my bookshelf. It had been sitting on one shelf or another, moving with me from place to place for about a decade. So I finally cracked it open. Two days later I'm wondering what exactly it was I read. It's a collection of stories, written almost like journal entries. Some that uncover wisdom, some that I didn't really get any deeper meaning from.
The best part of the book, and my favorite quote from it, is within the first few pages:
Share everything.
Play...more
The best part of the book, and my favorite quote from it, is within the first few pages:
Share everything.
Play...more
Aug 27, 2010
Leftbanker
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
complete-pieces-of-shit
This is a veiled swipe at anyone who has bothered to actually continue learning since age five. It’s another brick in the wall of pop culture that makes people feel good about the fact that they are stupid motherfuckers who have never worked hard to develop their minds. What they are saying is, “It’s OK to be quasi-literate; everyone else is just like you.” Everyone except the adults sitting around the dinner table of life. I’ll admit that I’m sort of a dumb shit but it’s not from lack of trying...more
I am not sure this book is important to me. But I will tell you this - one of the most delightful things I had read in a long time, and a thing I have tried to memorize, is Fulghum's wonderful list:
"Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and th...more
"Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and th...more
May 16, 2011
Ethan Clark
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Ethan by:
Kismet
Shelves:
biography-memoirs,
essays
I can remember when I read my first book by Robert Fulghum: it was by mere chance that I fell across the hardcover copy at a library book sale with the simple title of "Uh-Oh". His stories were just so uniquely different, more like pearls of wisdom from a scatterbrained grandfather than anything. It was a refreshing view on life, and was a comforting presence last summer during an unpleasant week of camp (Perfect Dark: Initial Vector also helped alleviate the heat and unpleasantness during this...more
Apr 22, 2009
Mr. Z
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Readers looking for an intelligent laugh
Recommended to Mr. Z by:
I came across it at the library
"Pieces of sanity are found washed ashore on all kinds of beaches these days. And skepticism and realism are not the same as cynicism and pessimism."
Robert Fulghum definitely sees life from a different perspective. And I do mean different!
I mean, how else can you explain how hard he tries to understand things like the difference between flowers and weeds? Who else could figure out what Ty Cobb's career batting average has to do with finding peace of mind? And, really, who in their right mind wo...more
Robert Fulghum definitely sees life from a different perspective. And I do mean different!
I mean, how else can you explain how hard he tries to understand things like the difference between flowers and weeds? Who else could figure out what Ty Cobb's career batting average has to do with finding peace of mind? And, really, who in their right mind wo...more
Jun 10, 2011
Yva Ladera
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Yva by:
Queenelle Gazmen
I have to say this book has not taught me a lot but rather it has opened my eyes to things I had somewhat already noticed. But I MUST thank Queenelle for recommending this book. It was a fun yet thoughtful read. While reading, i have come to realize that my ideas about simplicity being the best form of happiness are headed in the right direction. I rather enjoyed how the author showed his wit and simplicity through his credo. He spoke of, "Warm cookies and cold milk" and how we should, "go out i...more
Dozens of 2 and 3-page "chapters" add up to witty slants on an ample variety of life's ordinary "stuff" - subjects the average person might never have thought to look at in an atypical way. It was a bit like reading Andy Rooney's rhetorical observances.
Prior to reading the book, I skimmed some reviews - some good, some not so good. Fulghum wasn't conducting class. He didn't intend for this to be a scholarly work. I recognized that charmingly simple can easily be mistaken for overly-simple by som...more
Prior to reading the book, I skimmed some reviews - some good, some not so good. Fulghum wasn't conducting class. He didn't intend for this to be a scholarly work. I recognized that charmingly simple can easily be mistaken for overly-simple by som...more
It's a cute read, kind of like sitting down with your grandpa and hearing his stories. I liked the easy reading and basic style of each chapter being short and, pretty much, one quick little story.
I do have to say though, my fav. part of the book were the rules he learned in kindergarten (too true! all the good stuff is in there!) and, the rules he said are posted up near his desk:
Official Storyteller's License:
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That Myth is more potent than...more
I do have to say though, my fav. part of the book were the rules he learned in kindergarten (too true! all the good stuff is in there!) and, the rules he said are posted up near his desk:
Official Storyteller's License:
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That Myth is more potent than...more
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten was Fulghum's first collection of essays. I liked his style then, and still do. His writing reminds me of Mayberry...it evokes a sort of down-home feeling that brings to mind warm apple pie cooling on an open window sill, children playing on lazy summer afternoons, and neighborly conversations over backyard fences. Fulghum does a nice job of exploring simple things from a profound and thoughtful perspective to gently guide the reader to wisdom....more
I got a calendar with many good quotes from this but never got to read the book.
Alice's robes were seasonal. She hadn't exactly planned
it that way, but that's how it evolved. In winter there was a long,
warm, deep purple terry-cloth robe. In spring she changed to a new
blue-and-white cotton kimono. In summer there was a white chenille
bathrobe with a pattern on it, and in the fall she wore a cotton robe her
husband had bought her as a surprise gift. They were useful, practical
garments, but when she...more
Alice's robes were seasonal. She hadn't exactly planned
it that way, but that's how it evolved. In winter there was a long,
warm, deep purple terry-cloth robe. In spring she changed to a new
blue-and-white cotton kimono. In summer there was a white chenille
bathrobe with a pattern on it, and in the fall she wore a cotton robe her
husband had bought her as a surprise gift. They were useful, practical
garments, but when she...more
I enjoyed this very much. It's not supposed to be major life lessons for the readers, it's stories and observations from the author that the reader can take from. You don't have to take something from every observation, it's not mandatory. But really, isn't THAT a life lesson we learn very young? We aren't going to like everything everyone says, we aren't going to like everyone we meet and we aren't going to agree with everything we read. That's life. For me, there was a lot of insightful though...more
I cannot take credit for this observation, but it has to be said that the title of this book applies only to those who die very young. An accurate subtitle would be "Pablum for Simpletons".
Úžasná kniha o jednom životě, zážitcích a zkušenostech, o tom, že hledání odpovědí na otázky může být důležitější, než nalezení odpovědi, a že kolikrát i ta nejjednodušší odpověď může obsahovat hlubokou pravdu:-) Často jsem se při čtení přistihla, jak se usmívám a přikyvuji. A rozhodně jsem se ztotožnila se školkovým krédem: "...Věřím, že fantazie je silnější než vědění. Že mýty mají větší moc než historie. Že sny jsou mocnější než skutečnost. Že naděje vždy zvítězí nad zkušeností. Že smích je j...more
I first heard of this book from my Experiential Learning (PSYCH 3) professor five semesters ago—First Year, Summer. She quoted the first part of the book, and I found it very interesting, which made me want to read it. Then, I found out that one of my blockmates bought her own copy. So I borrowed it from her.
This book is a collection of short essays which were written by Robert Fulghum. It is one of those books that would make you reflect on the things you have been through with your life—a very...more
This book is a collection of short essays which were written by Robert Fulghum. It is one of those books that would make you reflect on the things you have been through with your life—a very...more
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is not what I anticipated or expected, but it was an interesting and quick read. I really like how Fulghum tried to connect mundane and simplistic life situations to greater meaning. It really makes you think twice about why we are really here and what we can do to enhance our lives.
One of my favorite quotes:
"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 know...more
One of my favorite quotes:
"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 know...more
I find it funny that so many people who reviewed this book made comments about the title. Why on earth does the title really matter? I know I have read hundreds of books with odd titles, but I did not base my review on it.
This book was easy to read - I read it in one rainy afternoon. I did not pick this book up to find the answers of life - I read it because it seemed light and fun - which it was.
I feel the book is very cool - hundreds of times I have thought random, misc. thoughts and told myse...more
This book was easy to read - I read it in one rainy afternoon. I did not pick this book up to find the answers of life - I read it because it seemed light and fun - which it was.
I feel the book is very cool - hundreds of times I have thought random, misc. thoughts and told myse...more
Robery Fulghum’s iconic bestseller about the simple acts of everyday childhood and beyond were turned into this memorable little gem. It has become one of my favorite books, not because it is the literary genius of a lifetime, but because his simple idea could become such a simple book that had the potential to touch so many people. I read it for the laugh, the moment where he ties the memory of a Styrofoam cup plant to the cycle of life is simple brilliance. Although it is not the self help boo...more
I've found reading adult non-fiction books to be a tedious read because it involves many facts. I finally gave up on one that I've had for almost a month because telling me every detail history of her relatives just got too much and it looked like she wasn't going to let up! But this book had nothing tedious about it. It had me chuckling through the entire book. It was sooooo easy to turn from one page to the next and time just flew by. I would have been disappointed that it ended but Mr. Fulghu...more
This is one of the most meaningful books I've read in my lifetime, up there with: Are You The One For Me, Re-Inventing Your Life, Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon, or The Road Less-Traveled. Robert Fulghum is and has been many things in his life from a reverend to a bartender to a Salvation Army bell-ringer which, I suppose, makes him the ideal philosopher, and at that he excels.
This book, and those that follow it from him, is a collection of anecdotes and stories from his life and experiences, and...more
This book, and those that follow it from him, is a collection of anecdotes and stories from his life and experiences, and...more
All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain.
1. Share everything
2. Play fair
3. Don't hit people
4. Put things back where you found them
5. Clean up your own mess
6. Don't take things that aren't yours
7. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody
8. Wash your hands before you eat
9. Flush ....
10.Warm cookies, cold milk are good for you
11.Live a balanced life- learn some, think some, draw,paint,sing,dance, play,work everyday some
12....more
1. Share everything
2. Play fair
3. Don't hit people
4. Put things back where you found them
5. Clean up your own mess
6. Don't take things that aren't yours
7. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody
8. Wash your hands before you eat
9. Flush ....
10.Warm cookies, cold milk are good for you
11.Live a balanced life- learn some, think some, draw,paint,sing,dance, play,work everyday some
12....more
How simple...how true. Life can be better for all of us if these wonderful guidelines were part of our everyday thinking. I think this book should be sent to every legislator in Washington...or better to EVERY legislator (and politician) everywhere. Perhaps they could get a clue about how to treat all of us out here paying the taxes, doing the right things for others and desperately trying to find our AMERICA of old. Read this and 'feel' exactly what is missing in our society today...you will sm...more
I was reading this with a plate of cookies and a warm glass of milk within an arm's reach, when it occurred to me: that's exactly what reading this book felt like. Having milk and cookies. Fulghum's like one of those funny, affable grandpas who impart silly but absolutely useful nuggets of wisdom to whoever bothers to stop and listen awhile.
This one tends to polarize its readers after the first few essays. Depending on the kind of person you are--the stop-and-listen kind, the too-busy-for-anythi...more
This one tends to polarize its readers after the first few essays. Depending on the kind of person you are--the stop-and-listen kind, the too-busy-for-anythi...more
It has been 20 years since I first read this book. I wanted to re-read it to see if I felt any different about certain views. Yes, I do feel different but better about things I couldn't see at 20. I loved the section about the crayons and world peace. How true that if everyone of us could take time to do something small of enjoyment that it just might bring peace. I think that the part about naps and blankets are important also. Okay so before I get all mushy just take time to re-read one book t...more
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“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
—
6,341 people liked it
“These are the things I learned (in Kindergarten):
1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first workd you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”
—
399 people liked it
More quotes…
1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first workd you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”
