The book basically puts uncommon thoughts on common things. Some of the thoughts he places in your mind are: 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 if you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Take a nap every afternoon. Rather than just saying these proverbs he relates them to past experiences that happened to him or other people. The book started when he would stick little notes in his kindergarteners friend’s knapsack, whose mother was a literary agent. After reading the notes, she asked if he had any more to share, and so Robert Fulghum wrote this book.