Seven-year-old Iris has unique way of describing everyone in her life. She lives with Mami the Busy, Papi the Clever, Shorty the Fortune-teller (her sister), and El Exigente (her dog). Friends and neighbors include Marta the Smart; Carmen the Beautiful; Don Joe the Grocer; My Aunt Tuta the Happily Married and her Brand-new Husband, Juan; and the Wise Old People who look for any opportunity to continue the world’s longest-lasting game of dominoes. Iris’s description of a trip to the Enchanted Lake with her family, friends, and neighbors grows increasingly hilarious as the troubles they run into become a means for highlighting how each individual more than lives up to Iris’s perceptive nickname in this ebullient picture book featuring an irrepressible Latina girl. (Ages 5–8)

Sometimes the unexpected is even more fun than the best-laid plans. Iris, her family, the neighbors, and dog take a road trip to the lake. But first, the cars break down. Then they get lost. And when they finally arrive at the lake, they see a NO DOGS ALLOWED sign. What to do? Iris's family's make-do attitude saves the day, for as they go about their beach activities while trying to figure out what to do with the dog, each takes a turn taking care of the dog. Soon the day is over, and the dog has had the best time of all -- the beach had been brought to him. Sesame Street's Sonia Manzano's first picturebook provides an ocean of humor, a warm, close-knit Puerto Rican community, and a take-charge family who refuses to let things get in their way!