Not surprisingly, Chris Raschka had a creative answer to this question. Walking by the same Manhattan buildings every day, Chris Raschka became very curious about the residents of those posh buildings and set out to explore just who those inhabitants are. Somewhat surprisingly, this two-time Caldegcott medalist—for The Hello, Goodbye Window written by Norton Juster, and for A Ball for Daisy—and a Caldecott honors recipient for Yo! Yes? did not parlay that curiosity into a picture book. Instead, Raschka wrote The Doorman’s Repose (New York Review’s Children’s Collection), which collects tales for middle graders about the eclectic and eccentric residents of 777 Garden Avenue, a fictional Upper East Side apartment building.

“I like to work at the New York Society Library on the East Side, and I walk there from my West Side home,” says Raschka of his inspiration for the book. “Walking is thinking time for me, and I also like noticing the life around me. I really enjoy imagining the life inside of the apartment buildings I pass—each has its own distinct atmosphere—and I have a nodding and greeting relationship with a number of the doormen in my neighborhood. So those doorman apartment buildings really inspired these stories.”

In fact, Mr. Bunchley, the doorman at 777 Garden Avenue, is the connecting thread in the book’s tales. Raschka introduces the good-natured fellow in the opening chapter, which he originally wrote as a picture book text. Yet, adds Raschka, “I already had a number of ideas for related story lines, which I developed, over the course of a few years, into this collection.”

The author unleashed his imagination as he created the building’s diverse occupants, some from families who have lived at the prestigious address for generations. Other characters include a pair of young mice who channel two of the human residents to become a psychoanalyst and a jazz musician; an easily rankled elevator named Otis; and Liesl, the temperamental boiler in the basement.

“One of the great things about writing for children is that no one blinks if you make animals talk, and I consider that a great boon,” says Raschka. “I had a mouse who used to visit me in my studio, and I was fascinated by that—I like the notion of this other world around us that we’re largely unaware of it. And Otis and Liesl are also a part of how I like to see the world: I like the interplay between human beings and the things we make—and how they might help or hurt us.”

Raschka, who created the novel’s chapter-opening illustrations as well as spot art, hints at additional middle grade offerings to come: “I’ve written a couple of novels already and am thinking about another, so I hope I’ll have more coming out.”

Among those attending BookExpo, Raschka likely has one of the easiest commutes to the show, which he’s pleased to be attending. “It’s a lot of fun to see people I haven’t seen in a year—booksellers, editors, authors, and illustrators,” he says. “There is so much energy all around, which is always exciting. And it’s especially nice to be able to get on my bicycle and ride downtown to Javits.” While nodding to doormen, no doubt, as he peddles by.

Today, 2:30–3 p.m. Chris Raschka will sign copies of The Doorman’s Repose in the Autographing Area, at Table 10.