Rotraut Susanne Berner – författare

It’s springtime in this charming, busy town and there is a lot going on! A house gets a top-to-bottom spring cleaning and farm fields are being prepared for planting. People are shopping, commuting to work, constructing buildings, and meeting friends. If you look closer, you’ll recognize the same characters appear on every page, each with their own story. There’s Wilfred the jogger slipping on a banana peel and his friend Erica who comes to help him. Three cheerful nuns shop, chat, and share a snack at the cafe. A stork surveys all the activity from the sky while a mischievous fox scampers through the streets. In the tradition of Richard Scarry and Where’s Waldo, this book encourages kids to return again and again to each spread, following along with the characters and inventing their own stories. They’ll recognize parts of their own world, while also learning about the endless ways we live, work, and play in the spring.

Winter has arrived and everywhere you look people are embracing the season. At home there’s baking, reading, and sleeping in, while on the farm the fields are fallow and quiet. Outside people are bundled up against the cold as they are skating, sledding, and running to catch a crowded bus. The town’s buildings are alive with activity—piano lessons, a dentist appointment, shopping for presents, and visiting the museum. And if you look closer, you’ll recognize the same characters on page after page, each with their own story. Wilfred the jogger has lost his keys, and Erica is shopping for a Christmas tree. Each minutely detailed scene is bursting with different people, such as a cheerful lady with an umbrella, and a young violinist, as well as animals and birds. In the tradition of Richard Scarry and Where’s Waldo, this book encourages kids to return again and again to these charming spreads, following along with the characters and inventing their own stories. They’ll recognize parts of their own world, while also learning about the endless ways we live, work, and play in the winter.

It’s summer and that means flowers, picnics, thunderstorms, and bike rides. It’s a busy time for construction workers, farmers, and house painters. Playgrounds are filled with kids and vacationers are boarding trains in droves. In the sky a pair of balloons drifts through every scene, while on the street people of all ages make their way to an outdoor birthday party. There’s even a big stormthat turns umbrellas inside out, sends hats flying, but ends in a lovely rainbow. As kids pore over these oversized spreads, they will delight in identifying the same characters on each page as they walk, play, jog, and roller skate—from homes to parks and office buildings to rail stations. In the tradition of Richard Scarry and Where’s Waldo, this book encourages kids to return again and again to these charming spreads, following along with the characters and inventing their own stories. All kinds of summer activities come alive in these endearing drawings that provide endless entertainment and spark engaging conversations.

The leaves are blowing off the trees and the birds are flying south in Bustletown. Farmers are preparing the fields for winter and kids are back in school. And look, there's a water main break that's causing havoc and a chimney sweeper perched on a roof! Each time readers look at these delightfully detailed spreads they'll discover something new, whether it's what's for sale at the outdoor market or how many pumpkins they can spot on a single page. Familiar characters appear on each page-a maestro and a violinist, a balloon-toting nun, and a mum with her baby. All the activity culminates in a harvest celebration lit by dozens of paper lanterns in every shape and size. In the tradition of Richard Scarry and Where's Waldo, this book encourages kids to return again and again to these charming spreads, following along with the characters and inventing their own stories. As they peruse scenes from the home to the farm, from the shopping center to the park, kids will enjoy identifying the different things that autumn brings.

No matter what time of year, the inhabitants of Bustletown are busy working, walking, playing, eating, making music, exercising, and shopping. Now, even though it’s nighttime, the fun hasn’t stopped. Just as Berner’s previous explorations of the town have brilliantly evoked the sights and colors of the seasons, here she bathes the town in shimmering darkness that throws evening activities into fascinating relief. Seven colorful and incredibly detailed spreads take readers inside a multigenerational house, a farm, a railway station, a community center, a marketplace, a department store, and a park with a lake. Readers will return again and again to these pages to discover everything that takes place in Bustletown during the late hours: a burglar tries to break into the dental office, the bookshop features “books for a good night,” fireworks explode above the lake, and a slumber party is raging in the library. And as they search on each page for their favorite returning characters, they’ll create their own stories about all the things you can do after the sun sets.