Iris – by Kassandra Papuga and Amy Calautti.

Iris lived on a farm with her mum and dad, her four brothers and three sisters, her twelve aunties and nine uncles and her twenty-seven cousins. Wow, that’s a big family dynamic. And they all looked the same. Except for Iris. No one looked like Iris. Iris was all over purple.

The farmer knew Iris by name and Iris was the first counted every morning. Still, Iris didn’t like standing out. She wanted to be like the rest of her family.  

Iris needed a plan

Life can be funny sometimes. Even for alpacas. I guess everybody wants to fit in with family and friends. Be considered one of the pack. But, at the same time, when you are just like everybody else, you try to find ways of standing out and being special.

So, when Iris comes up with a plan, and a pretty good one, to look like everybody else, she finds out that everybody else wants to look like her. Go figure?!

It’s raining alpacas

Iris is a fun and clever story with plenty of heart and great use of rain and mud to bring the story and the alpacas together. If you love running and jumping in puddles, if you like dancing in the rain and splashing in mud (and who doesn’t?!), then you’ll love this story.

It’s about fitting in, about being different, about friendship and family, but mostly it’s about life and expression and having fun.  

There’s wonderful illustrations by Amy Calautti that capture that expression beautifully, I particularly love the first page, with so many alpaca faces. It really sets the scene and captures the alpacas quirky and loveable nature.

Iris is a loveable alpaca with a fun and energetic tale that is sure to delight, and with a wonderful message to share in the classroom.

A Family Portrait

Details:

Author: Kassandra Papuga

Illustrator: Amy Calautti

Publisher: Little Steps Publishing, 2021