Right from the title page, where the little ant sits on a chair backed with mapleseeds to don four red sneakers, children will gleefully enter Smith's world of enormous-looking grasses and leaves as seen from an insect's point of view. ``Step by step'' she travels from home, over stones and under branches, to meet her friend, a grasshopper. After a climb up a flower for nectar and a watery adventure when they're spilled from a leaf boat, the joyous pair dances under a spray of dazzling droplets. Then the little ant heads home, precisely the way she came--but time's passing has slightly altered each setting in the cleanly rendered watercolor illustrations. Smith draws readers in with close-up perspectives, enlivens scenes with other small creatures, and skillfully modulates light as day and story together come to a close. Long a favorite in Wolkstein's storytelling repertoire, a spare, well- honed tale in an appealing setting that will make it a winner with the preschool set. (Picture book. 2-5)
