All Around Bustletown

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.

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 storm that 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.

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.

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 storm that 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.