“When Fall Comes” is a picture book guide to getting outside as the days grow shorter.

In November, the sky’s palette is frequently resorting to variations of gray and seasonal affective disorder can assert itself in many a Northwesterner’s psyche.

One of the best ways to confront that is to get appropriately bundled up and go outside — even when there’s rain in the forecast — to inhale the freshest breezes of the year and appreciate the colorful, leaf-littered ground and revitalized mud flats and streams that characterize autumn in our region.

A new picture book from Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Seattle-based Sasquatch Books, encourages families to adopt that spirit of adventure.

“When Fall Comes” depicts what people might encounter on hikes in the forest or walks on the beach at this time of year.

The text is written by Midwesterner Aimée M. Bissonette, but Portland illustrator Erin Hourigan produces colorful scenes that include volcanic peaks freshly frosted with snow, shorebirds at the beach and gray whales swimming down the coast.

This week’s book

“When Fall Comes” by Aimée M. Bissonette, illustrated by Erin Hourigan

Little Bigfoot — 32 pp — $17.99 paperback

In this tale, a multigenerational family — grandparents, mom, child (and dog) enjoy one another’s company as they traverse creek beds, view waterfalls and, back at home, rake up the leaves and stack firewood, preparing for the onset of nippy weather.

Only one page depicting mushroom foraging gave me pause. In Hourigan’s illustration, the grandparents are both supervising as their grandchild plucks a mushroom.

Likewise, parents reading this at home with their kids can use this page to have a conversation about how important it is to identify which mushrooms found in the wild are safe to eat.

Other pages show animals preparing for the seasonal change, too — chipmunks stash seeds, chickadees prepare moss-lined nests and black bears search for dens where they can hole up for the coming cold season.

The overall idea is to pay attention to what’s going on in nature and all of the changes, large and small, that take place as one season gives way to the next.

This book is just one of Bissonette’s “When Seasons Come” series — three of the books are already out: “When Summer Comes,” “When Fall Comes” and “When Winter Comes.”

The winter-themed book, which discusses the different adaptations of wildlife in winter, is available in both picture book and board book formats. A version celebrating spring will be in the works soon.

All of these books show different ways people can get out to observe and enjoy nature, whether it’s paddling a canoe or camping in the summertime, building a bonfire on the beach in the autumn, or snowshoeing in the winter.

The series includes human families of different ethnicities and various forms of animal life, from insects and slugs to bobcats and bears.

In an increasingly screen-reliant world, it is great to see families getting outside and being active, whether that means splashing in puddles, tossing snowballs or exploring tidepools. They’re embracing change and practicing resilience.

And for Northwest readers, it’s fun to spy familiar landmarks and regional references in these stories — including a Mt. Hood sweatshirt.

This week’s book “When Fall Comes” by Aimée M. Bissonette, illustrated by Erin Hourigan Little Bigfoot — 408 pp — $27.95 paperback