The latest installment about best friends Iris and Walter finds the pair preparing for a class trip to the aquarium. Following a long bus ride and the usual teacher exhortations about getting lost, they enter the exhibit, where Walter becomes so engrossed in the coral reef that he loses track of everything else. Iris is the first to notice his absence. Together with Miss Cherry, the class retraces its steps until it encounters the mesmerized Walter, blissfully unaware of all the consternation he has caused. Davenier's brightly colored pen-and-ink illustrations exude a sunny, reassuring feel that perfectly suits the story. Children will realize that even though Walter is temporarily misplaced, the smiling fishes that surround him mean that everything is bound to turn out all right. Guest keeps her text brief (never more than seven or eight lines per page) and her chapters short, assuring that novice readers will find numerous stopping points throughout the story. A good choice for emerging readers and Iris and Walter fans.

In their ninth adventure, best pals Iris and Walter venture forth from their familiar settings of home and school for a field trip to the aquarium. Guest drops in some foreshadowing, and readers can be certain that Walter will be lost, and eventually found. Davenier employs her minimal black line well to capture the excitement.

K-Gr 2-A class trip to an aquarium is the topic for this slim, four-chapter volume. The book flows logically, first with the teacher discussing the outing with her class, followed by discussion at Iris's house with her friend. Despite all the planning, Walter temporarily goes missing (he is unaware that he's lost) at the crowded facility. Miss Cherry handles the crisis with calm competence and reassurance, and in no time all are reunited. Guest has written a solid story without resorting to melodrama, and takes several opportunities to repeat new vocabulary. Words such as "penguin," "aquarium," and "field trip," and relevant marine terminology, are viable parts of the story, which will be of interest to students and useful to teachers. Whimsical, watercolor cartoons round out the book. An excellent example of the easy-reader genre.-Phyllis M. Simon, Bay Shore School District, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.