One of three children's picture-books to incorporate the domestic painting of beloved Swedish artist Carl Larsson - see also: A Home and A Farm - with text, based upon Larsson's own memoirs, by Lennart Rudström, A Family offers a lovely portrait of the painter's family, whom he often used as models, in his work. These paintings, however, are of the family as themselves, going about their daily tasks, or captured in moments of rest. One of my all-time favorite Larsson pieces, Studio Idyll, which depicts the artist's wife Karin, together with their newborn daughter, Suzanne, is included.

Needless to say, this is a book with brilliant illustrations! The text, too, is very appealing, offering a window into that other time, and the lives of one artistic family, in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Sweden. There is more detail given here, as compared to the other two picture-books, about Larsson's artistic process, which was interesting. Taken together, I think this trio of titles - A Home, A Farm and A Family - are a wonderful introduction to this important artist's work (and to his family) for young readers. ( )