Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress

Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. But most of all, Morris loves his classroom’s dress-up center and its tangerine dress.

Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. He dreams about having space adventures, paints beautiful pictures and sings the loudest during circle time. But most of all, Morris loves his classroom’s dress-up center — he loves wearing the tangerine dress.

But 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 the taunts of his classmates, his mother lets him stay home from school. Morris reads about elephants, and puts together a puzzle, and 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. This is a sweetly told story about the courage and creativity it takes to be different.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CHRISTINE BALDACCHINO is a writer and artist with a background in early childhood education. She is the author of two picture books, including Violet Shrink, illustrated by Carmen Mok, a love letter to introversion, imagination and protecting one’s own energy; and the Stonewall Honor recipient Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant, which won the CBC Bookie Award for Best Picture Book, was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and has appeared on a number of lists, including Kirkus Best Picture Books That Celebrate Diversity and the American Library Association’s Rainbow Book List. Christine currently lives with her husband and cat in Toronto, Ontario.

ISABELLE MALENFANT was born in the north of Quebec, between gold mines and lakes, in the city of Val d'Or. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Université du Québec à Montréal, then fell in love with illustration. Since then, Isabelle has illustrated more than twenty children’s books, including the highly acclaimed Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino. She lives with her family in Montreal.

• Today's Parent Top Picture Books of the YearCommended 2014
• Huffington Post Best Picture Books of the Year: Most Touching/HeartwarmingCommended 2014
• Blue Spruce AwardShort-listed 2015
• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book AwardShort-listed 2015
• CBC Bookie Award for Best Picture BookWinner 2015
• Cooperative Children's Book Center ChoicesCommended 2015
• Kirkus Best Picture Books Celebrating DiversityCommended 2014
• Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the YearCommended 2014
• Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and TeensCommended 2014
• American Library Association Rainbow ListCommended 2015
• Stonewall Honor Books in Children’s and Young Adult LiteratureCommended 2015
• Quill & Quire Books of the Year for Young PeopleCommended 2014
• TD Canadian Children's Literature AwardShort-listed 2015