Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress - Tapa dura

"Morris likes lots of things about school. He likes to paint. He likes to do puzzles. He likes the apple juice at snack time and singing the loudest during circle time. Most of all, Morris likes the dress-up center. And the tangerine dress." from the book Stonewall Honor Book in Children's and Young Adult Literature Selected for the American Library Association's Rainbow List Finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award Finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award Finalist for the Blue Spruce Award A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year Kirkus Reviews selection for Best Picture Book Celebrating Diversity A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice A Huffington Post Best Picture Book of the Year "Morris is a complex character whose creativity and personality shine. . . . Sensitive and reassuring." Kirkus Reviews, starred review "[R]ather than presenting an overt message about gender identity, the book provides a subtle and refreshing glimpse at a boy who simply likes to dress up." School Library Journal "Baldacchino doesn't sugar-coat the teasing and isolation Morris endures. . . . Malenfant showcases Morris's full emotional spectrum." Publishers Weekly "Unlike some more messagey titles on the subject, this one provides Morris with a personality beyond his dress-loving nature, making him enjoyable literary company." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Baldacchino's gentle story sensitively depicts gender nonconforming children, offering them reassurance and, one hopes, acceptance by introducing other children to the concept." Booklist

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.