THE LITTLEST FAMILY'S BIG DAY

A forest-dwelling family of tiny anthropomorphic bears and a baby fox go adventuring.

Martin’s exquisite acrylic-and-gouache illustrations will invite readers to pore over their details in order to take in the many wonders of the miniature, fantastic woodland setting. After setting up house behind a red door at the base of a tree, the littlest family ventures out for a walk, the baby fox in a walnut-shell stroller. (It’s a mixed marriage, father bear a tawny brown, mother bear dark brown, and the children lighter shades of brown.) “Were they alone?” asks the text, printed in a type that approximates cursive. Readers who spy a fairy in the lower-left corner of the verso can anticipate the response at the page turn: “They were not! Not at all.” They greet tiny bunnies, squirrels, birds, raccoons, a bug and a snail, and elves. The family’s wanderings take them boating on leaves across waterways to a spot where they eat wild strawberries, through a storm and to shelter under a toadstool, and then they are lost. A benevolent owl helps them find the best place of all, “HOME,” which is depicted in a gorgeous full-bleed double gatefold. The absence of rich characterization and a fully engaging story is mitigated by the illustrations’ achievement: the art outshines the text throughout. Martin is an illustrator to watch.

Looking closely at little details will offer readers big rewards.