![]() ![]() Lastly, there might be some children in the group who may not identify with their assigned gender and the story could be a first step to opening up this topic as well. The children are confronted with different forms of expression in their daily life, so the story has the opportunity to show the children that these expressions are okay. Also, the story opens up a discussion about gender expression – in this case through clothes – and shows that it is okay to express yourself in any way you like, even if it might not fit in with the stereotypical gender role assigned to your apparent one. Therefore, the story helps to strengthen tolerance and the emotional intelligence of the students. Most children can sympathise with being made fun of. It refers to issues such as the impacts of being bullied and the importance of staying true to yourself and who you have become.įirst of all, it is important to point out that most topics are more easily accessible for children if they are presented through multiple channels which is why an illustrated story is a good way to approach the difficult topic of gender stereotypes in class. Overall, this picture book challenges gender stereotypes and views on gender roles. ![]() As they find out that playing with Morris is fun, most of the children accept him the way he is and accept that he likes wearing dresses. From this point on, Morris wearing dresses is not important anymore for many of the children. ![]() They want to know more about Morris’ experiences in space and are suddenly highly interested in playing with him. After painting a picture of his adventurous space safari, he takes it with him to school where it attracts the other children’s attention. While staying at home, Morris’ mind wanders off and he dreams of being on a space safari, an incident which will change his life. Being ridiculed and laughed at for wearing a dress, Morris gets worse and stays away from school. Boys who wear dresses?! For the other children at school, this is unacceptable. Most of all, however, he loves to wear the tangerine dress which he found in the dress-up centre at school. The picture book “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress” is about Morris, a boy who likes many things such as pancakes, cats, the colour orange, painting and going to school. Until 2014, she had already “illustrated more than a dozen children’s books” (Baldacchino 2014). She has a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design and turned to illustrating picture books. Isabelle Malefant, who did the illustrations for the story “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress”, was born in Quebec, Canada. Taking experiences and real-live incidents as inspiration for her stories, such as her own experiences of being bullied and excluded in school, her stories deeply get under one’s skin and provoke thought. Just as Morris, the protagonist of her first picture book, she likes cats and the colour orange. ![]() Her first book, “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress”, published in 2014, as well as “Violet Shrink”, published in 2020, are highly praised and popular in many countries. Besides having an educational background in early childhood education, she writes picture books. Christine Baldacchino is a Canadian graphic artist and web designer living in Toronto. ![]()
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