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Iris and Walter. by Elissa Haden Guest. 2000. Harcourt Children's Books. 44 pages. ISBN: 9780152021221

When I arrived at my current library two years ago, the first question I received that stumped me was a request for the Iris and Walter books. I knew a lot of kids’ books, even then, but somehow none of the libraries I’d worked in prior to my current position had this series, so I had to admit to the nanny who asked for them that I didn’t know what they were. In the intervening two years, I have read a couple of the later books about this pair of best friends, and I have come to love Christine Davenier’s illustration style. Today, I’m spotlighting the very first Iris and Walter book, published in 2000.

Iris has just moved to the country, and she misses everything about her life in the big city. Her parents try to cheer her up by asking her to play all her favorite games, but Iris doesn’t feel like it. Her problem, she complains to her grandfather, is that the country doesn’t have any kids. Grandpa is sure this can’t be true, so he takes Iris on a walk around her neighborhood. Up a ladder, in a tree, behind the door of a little treehouse, Iris finds Walter, and suddenly life in the country is much, much better.

Lots of children’s books deal with moving to a new place and searching for friends, and the plot of this story doesn’t really add anything that previous books haven’t covered. What stands out about Iris and Walter is the way the story is written, and the specific details Guest uses to evoke Iris’s memories of the city, and her feelings about moving and meeting Walter. For example, Iris doesn’t just miss the city, she misses “playing baseball after supper until it was too dark to see the ball.” She’s not just nervous about the country, she thinks it’s “as lonely as Mars.” And when Iris and Walter finally meet and explore the country together, Guest even takes a few moments to reflect on the natural beauty of Iris’s new home, telling us of “red-tailed hawks and starry skies” and “pale roses” and “cool grass.”

The writing is descriptive and yet accessible for newly independent readers. The vocabulary is rich, but not overwhelming, and the story manages to be literature without being obscure or boring. Kids can relate to the happiness of finding a new friend and to the coziness of spending time with that friend day after day. Walter doesn’t have much to say in this book, so it’s not necessarily the most balanced introduction to a series that stars two characters, but as “how they met” stories go, it works nicely, and it sets us up for all the future fun Iris and Walter will have together.

Iris and Walter reminds me of the sweetness of the Frog and Toad books and the humor of Mr. Putter and Tabby or Henry and Mudge. Recommend it to kids who like the Freckleface Strawberry picture books, the Pinky and Rex series, and the George and Martha series. Learn more about the rest of the Iris and Walter books at the author’s website, http://www.elissahadenguest.com/

I borrowed Iris and Walter from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Turtle and Snake and the Christmas Tree. by Kate Spohn. 2000. Penguin. 32 pages. ISBN: 9780670888672 

Turtle and Snake and the Christmas Tree is a Level 1 title in the Viking Easy-to-Read series. The book jacket recommends this reading level for ages 4 to 7, or Preschool to Grade 1 - kids “getting started” with reading.

The story focuses on next door neighbors, Turtle and Snake, who go out on a snowy day to find a Christmas tree. At the tree farm, they become very particular about the types of trees they like. All the trees they find are too tall, too skinny, too wide, or too short. Only when they come back home, disappointed, do they realize the truly perfect Christmas tree is right in their backyard all along.

The text in this reader is very basic, making it perfect for those brand-new readers with just a few sight words under their belts. Sentences are kept short and simple, and certain words are repeated for emphasis. There is a definite pattern to the segment of the story where the two friends point out what they like and dislike about certain trees, where the same structure is repeated four times. The author also makes effective use of lists in the latter half of the book, presenting information in a consistent, predictable way.

The full-color illustrations fill the pages from top to bottom, which gives the book strong visual appeal, even if the animals themselves look sort of unusual. Turtle and Snake aren’t very expressive in their facial expressions, which is too bad, but the color scheme and Henkes-esque mice make up for that and draw the reader into the book anyway. For an adult who is familiar with all types of writing, the story might seem simplistic, and the ending cheesy and predictable, but for those new readers still learning about story structure, reading this book will be a perfect first experience with independent reading.

Share Turtle and Snake and the Christmas Tree with kids who have read the Biscuit books and are ready for a tiny bit more of a challenge. When the holidays are over, also check out the rest of the Turtle and Snake series, including Turtle and Snake Go Camping and Turtle and Snake at Work.

I borrowed Turtle and Snake and the Christmas Tree from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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