Mister Rogers is having a moment. And I couldn’t be happier. As someone who grew up in his neighborhood and who watched the show religiously (I watched it as much as Sesame Street), I always felt like he unfairly became a punchline over the years. Something far too many people looked back on with embarrassment and nervous laughter.

But with last year’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor documentary and the upcoming A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood feature film (starring Tom Hanks!), Fred Rogers is finally getting his due.

Whereas Sesame Street used adorable monsters to teach us how to read, count, and share, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood created the original safe space on television and showered us with kindness.

He told us it’s OK to be who we are. It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to feel scared and uncomfortable. It’s OK to not have all the answers. It’s OK to be human.

He and the show were relentlessly positive, and it’s something we sorely need back.

Though I grew up with Mister Rogers during the early 80s, his career spanned so much more. Over the course of nearly 900 episodes and 33 years, Mister Rogers touched the lives of millions.

Away from the TV screen, I also grew up listening to Mister Rogers records, so I have a definite soft spot for his songs, which reliably explore the traits that make us all unique members of his beautifully welcoming neighborhood.

Two LPs that received heavy rotation in my house as a kid.

So it’s a particular thrill to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers released from Quirk Books (illustrations by Luke Flowers).

This gorgeous book is like mainlining nostalgia for a more carefree time. If Mister Rogers was in any way a part of your childhood, you owe it to yourself to lose yourself in these pages.

The book collects the lyrics for 75 songs from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (and The Children’s Corner, which was the first show Fred Rogers performed on as a puppeteer). From the well-known opening and closing songs to everything in between, these are the very definition of “feel-good songs.”

Some are as familiar as an old sweater; some are less so. Some you can’t help but sing along to; some will make you want to go online and find video of him singing it in the show.

But all of them – every single one – will remind you of what a caring, gentle, wonderful genius we had in Fred Rogers. And it will make you miss him all over again.

Luke Flowers’ illustrations are a perfect complement to Rogers’ lyrics. His art captures the childlike wonder and imagination of the show, and this marriage of fresh art with timeless, lyrical poetry makes A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood pretty much the perfect gift book.

Gift it the children in your life. Gift it to those who grew up with Mister Rogers. Gift it to yourself. It’s a valuable reminder of what’s good in the world and why every day is such a special day… just by your being you.