Isabelle Malenfant
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine dress
Ages 3–8
Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. But most of all, Morris loves wearing the tangerine dress in his classroom’s dress-up center. The children in Morris’s class don’t understand. Dresses, they say, are for girls. And Morris certainly isn’t welcome in the spaceship some of his classmates are building. Astronauts, they say, don’t wear dresses. One day when Morris feels all alone and sick from their taunts, his mother lets him stay home from school. Morris dreams of a fantastic space adventure with his cat, Moo.
Inspired by his dream, Morris paints the incredible scene he saw and brings it with him to school. He builds his own spaceship, hangs his painting on the front of it and takes two of his classmates on an outer space adventure. With warm, dreamy illustrations, Isabelle Malenfant perfectly captures Morris’s vulnerability and the vibrancy of his imagination.
$17.99$19.99
Prices are indicative. Final price is set by the retailer at checkout.
Why this book
Keep this on the shelf like it belongs there, because it does.
Who it's for
Ages 3-8. Rainbow families, gender-curious kids, anyone stocking a shelf that is not a debate.
Conversation starter
How did someone in this story show who they are? Who stood with them?
Try this
Close it and wait. The useful comment comes after the fidgeting.
How we write these notes
Pair with
Two titles that deepen the same conversation.
Ages 3–8
10,000 dressesMarcus Ewert
Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows. . . . Unfortunately, when Bailey's awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary. "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey. "You shouldn't be thinking about dresses at all." Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey's imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey's dreams come true!
