Iris and Walter True Friends (Iris & Walter

Iris and Walter

by Elissa Haden Guest, Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Sometimes it takes a friend to help solve a problem. So when Iris announces that she really wants to ride the wild horse Rain, Walter comes up with the perfect plan to help her.

Genres: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, 1st Grade

43 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Elissa Haden Guest is the author of Baby Builders, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata and the award-winning Iris and Walter series illustrated by Christine Davenier. She holds an MFA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University and teaches classes in writing for children and young adults at College of Marin Community Education and Stanford Continuing Studies. She and her husband have two swell children and a hilarious little grandson. They live in San Francisco where they root for the Golden State Warriors.

Reviews

[Candace]

This beginning chapter book is about friendship. It is two short stories written in four chapters. The first story is about Iris and the horse Rain. The second story is about Walter and his desire to not have a nickname. In both stories the friends help each other solve their problems.

[Susan Mortimer]

This is the story of friends Iris and Walter, and how they are able to each help the other with a problem. Haden-Guest’s early-reader is broken up into four chapters: two separate stories, each focusing on one of our character’s problems. In the first story Iris wants to befriend Rain, the horse, and is able to do so until Walter gently provides guidance on how to approach a shy animal. Walter doesn’t know what to do when his new teacher calls him by a nickname, rather than his preferred full name, until Iris gives him inspiration for the perfect solution. The text is of an ideal size for the beginning reader, and the writing is clear and succinct. At the same time the reader is allowed much room for imagination, especially through Davenier’s illustrations. Her gently-colored and pleasingly sketch-like quality of art take the story to a level beyond the written text, as readers are witness to the daily lives of Walter and Iris, both separate and together in friendship. This is an excellent choice for reading about the joy and value of friendship. (Note that this is book #2 in a series.) - Gr. K-2

[Dolly]

This is an interesting story that shows Walter teaching Iris how to be quiet and calm in order to allow a horse to get to know her and trust her as well as teaching her how to behave around the horse.

The story is broken up into four short chapters (and overall, two short stories) and would be great to encourage beginning readers to try reading a "chapter book."

The watercolor illustrations are a little blurry and indistinct in many places, but I liked the expressions on the people's faces. Overall, this is an entertaining tale and I think young children will be able to relate to Iris and Walter.

We've read a couple of the books in the Iris and Walter series and we've enjoyed reading them together. We will certainly look for more at our local library.

[Meredith]

Iris wins the trust of a horse that she then rides, Iris and Walter start school, and Walter comes up with a creative way to tell his teacher that he doesn’t like being called Walt.

This easy reader series uses Iris's and Walter's friendship to tackle everyday issues experienced by children, both acknowledging the small struggles that have big impacts and reassuring young readers.

[Mandy Robek]

A sweet friendship story - realistic and a story students can easily comprehend.

[Hope]

WD in WI

[Genevieve]

A cute story about two friends who help each other solve their problems, face their fears and follow their dreams. A sweet story great for beginner readers.

[Mckinley]

This is a wonderful series. Good, interesting storylines with lovely illustrations.

[Hillvan]

270L

[Allison]

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org

[Diana S]

3.5 ★★★ A great book about friendship.

[Sarah]

Virtue: patience

[WSL Library]

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