Morris is a young boy with a gentle soul and a wonderful imagination. He likes puzzles, pancakes and painting, but he loves playing dress up at school. His favourite item to wear is a tangerine-orange dress, because it is the same colour as his mother’s hair and it makes pleasant sounds as he swishes around the classroom.

The other students don’t understand why a boy would want to wear a dress or nail polish. Some girls try to take away the dress and some boys won’t include Morris in their game. “Astronauts don’t wear dresses,” they tell him. The teasing he receives gives him a tummy ache that keeps him home from school one day, but with a little time to think and dream, Morris finds a way to relate to his schoolmates and show them that boys can wear dresses if they like.

Morris goes back to school with a painting of his dream of elephants and tigers in space so the boys are interested in playing astronauts with him. He tells the girls he is playing with the tangerine dress, and they can have a turn when he is finished. With a few simple actions, Morris quietly and independently teaches his classmates that boys can wear dresses and there is nothing wrong with that! Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress is a great choice for Primary students.

The soft images emphasize the shades of orange throughout the book and the language is simple and clear. Older students will appreciate literary devices such as the alliteration found in the family names (Morris’ mother is named Moira and their cat is called Moo) and the onomatopoeia of the dress’ crinkling and swishing and the clicking of high-heeled shoes.

This story would be a perfect addition to a Grade 1 social studies lesson about different kinds of families and changing roles and responsibilities and would open the door to discussing identity and sense of self. All students will understand feeling different from their peers and worrying about being left out, and this is a great story about representation and acceptance.

Jessica Colafranceschi is a member of the Peel Teacher Local.