PITTSBURGH -- It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood and Fred Rogers has come out of broadcasting retirement to tell you it's true, even after Sept. 11.

Rogers, a Latrobe, Pa., native who has greeted the world as Mister Rogers for 34 years, recorded four public service announcements for the Public Broadcasting Service addressing the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

A longer, two-minute message was recorded for PBS and can be seen at MrRogers.org or PBS.org.

"Young children are likely to be confused," Rogers says in an announcement directed at parents. "They don't understand what an anniversary is, and if they see the tragedy replayed on television, they might think it's happening at that moment."

It's not the first time Rogers has addressed his audience following a national tragedy.

He recorded shows in 1968, his first year on the air, after the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. He did another show talking about the assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and the killing of John Lennon.

"Fred is now speaking to a third generation," said David Newell, also known as Mr. McFeely. "He's a communicator, not a performer. He's got a knack of talking right to the person at home through the television monitor."

PBS television stations and affiliate radio stations will be airing the announcements through Sept. 11 and perhaps for some time after, Newell said.

"Our first year taping was 1968, when we had Mr. Luther King and all of that -- we just thought that was as bad as it got," Newell said. "We thought you couldn't top that and then came Sept. 11."

Rogers did public service announcements immediately following the attacks. Newell said the anniversary announcements carry the same importance.

"Fred has always made clear the separation between reality and fantasy and you can see that when he goes to visit King Friday XIII or Lady Aberlin," Newell said. "It's so important that when those images begin playing again, children know that it's not happening all over again."

Rogers recorded his final new episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" -- PBS' longest-running series -- last August. PBS stations continue to air some 300 episodes that date back as far as 1979.