Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores

Horace and Morris and Dolores #1

by James Howe

Will their friendship ever be the same?

Horace, Morris, and Dolores have been best friends forever. They do everything together -- from sailing the seven sewers to climbing Mount Ever-Rust. But one day Horace and Morris join the Mega-Mice (no girls allowed), and Dolores joins the Cheese Puffs (no boys allowed). Is this the end? Or will Horace and Morris but mostly Dolores find a way to save the day -- and their friendship?

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Fiction, School, Animals, Gender

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book for my kids, especially my niece. She is in a huge phase of wanting to be with girls. This book deals with a boys only club and a girls only club. Horace, Morris, and Dolores are great friends and when they go to their respective clubs they miss each other. So they build a club for everyone.

My niece had a lot of questions about why this and that and I hope it made her think a little. The characters had more fun doing things together than apart and it's not as much fun being shoved into a roll in life that isn't really you.

The art is fun.

[Nicolas Robles]

I feel like this book could be used in the 2nd to 3rd grade reading level. The pictures were like little crayon drawing and are fun i think for little kids to look at. One thing i enjoyed and know as a little kid would probably love to read is the rhyming names of all of the mice. It in my mind sounds a lot more fun and for little kids it is something that they like and i could see them taking the book home to their parents to read. The story is very relatable to how kids act in elementary school, boy vs the girls. It's a simpler time before they know that they like each other so they are exclusive in just talking to each other. I think something cool to do is just ask the students which character they think they are most like since they act just like normal students and maybe have them build their own forts as a fun interactive game.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I don’t care if the messages are didactic, re gender stereotypes and the importance of true friendship, and doing what you enjoy not what others think you should enjoy.

This is such a charming book. It’s a fabulous read aloud book, so much fun! I love the plays on words, yes they’re corny/cheesy?!, but they had me chuckling, and the rhyming is fun, and will appeal to many kids.

I checked the publication date and was happy to see that this is not a new book. To me it feels even older than it is. While I would recommend it to today’s kids, I’m hoping they’ll find the premise to be old-fashioned.

[Victoria Cifarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of three mouse friends who love a good adventure but get separated by gender. Horace and Morris go to the all boys club and Dolores goes to the all girls club. The friends miss one another but no the friendship can't be the same. Eventually Dolores gets fed up with all of the girly activities. Her and a new friend go over to the boy club wanting an adventure. All the boys but Horace, Morris and one new friend say no way to hanging out with the girls. The five new friends make their own club to have fun adventures at and everyone is welcomed.

This shows children it is okay to be friends with everyone and not based off their gender. It can be hard for young children to stand up for themselves and not go along with the group. I think it is important for children to have all different friends no matter what gender or race. To be friends with whoever you share similar interest with is whats important.

[Becky Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fanciful story is about three young mice who are the best of friends. They love to go on adventures with each other. One day Horace and Morris decided to join a Boys Only Club leaving Dolores alone which lead to Dolores joining a Girls Only Club. The mice missed playing with each other then one day, Dolores announced that she was bored in her club and other girl mice joined her. The two girl mice went to the boys club to see who wanted to explore. One extra boy mouse joined Horace and Morris, and then the five mice went exploring and made a club of their own. This story is great because it breaks boundaries for young girls. They can do whatever they want regardless of what the norm is for girls. This fantasy narrative allows students to see that they can play with each other. and, in fact, boys don’t have “koodies.” This would be a cute read to add to the classroom library because it is an easy read that students can also read on their own.

[Olivia Lavelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book Horace and Morris but mostly Dolores by James Howe was a nice children's book. This book had an obvious conflict that I think most children and even adults could relate to. We have all been excluded from a group whether it be because of age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc. This was about three best friends who did everything together, until one day they all ran into a club house that said "NO GIRLS ALLOWED." Horace and Morris ditched Dolores and she was all alone until she made a club house that said, "NO BOYS ALLOWED." She later decided that, that was no fun and they all came together and made their own club house as a team. I would love to read this book to my nephews, because it could teach them a thing or two about the value of friendship and what it is like to be fair. Overall, I like the storyline of this animal fiction book, it gives a great message.

[Analissa Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute animal book reveals some social issues that happen to people of all ages everyday. Three best friends, 1 girl and 2 boys, are segregated when Horace and Morris decide to join and all boys club, leaving the Dolores to join an all girls club to rid herself from boredum. When the Dolores decides she doesn't like this club anymore she leaves bringing a new friend with her and goes to the all boys club. When she asks the boys to play most don't want to play with girls, but Horace, Morris and their new friend decided they do. These characters did not let the gender discretion keep them from playing with friends they wanted to play with, which is a valuable trait in an individual. to be able to critically think on your own with out letting other steering your decision is a lesson all should learn at a young age.

[Karly Kovac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute book for little kids. I think it was a good lesson. Often times little kids like to exclude the opposite sex, no matter how good of friends they are. This is typical for little kids and the person who is being excluded often feels left out. I thought it was cute that at the end of the book they boys and girls all get together and form their own club that includes both boys and girls. They seem to have more fun once they do this and everyone gets along and plays together. I liked this book!

[Sandra Vicars · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about three friends that do everything together. When the boys must choose between staying with Dolores or doing "what a boy mouse must do" they choose the latter. They join a boys only club. Dolores decides to start her own club of just girls. After time Dolores tires of the girls club and wants to explore and her new friend Chloris joins her. They stop by the boys club and Horace and Morris join them. The new friends set out on a new adventure. A great story to use to talk about friendship.

[Courtney Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute story about friendship. The grammar contained rhyming, which is a strong tool for students to work with. The story shows how important friendship is. Horace, Morris and Dolores are the best of friends; they do everything together. One day, Horace and Morris decide they want to do "boy" things and create their own club. Dolores retaliates and does the same. They soon learn the miss each other, and even end up adding a few new friends to the trio. It shows that you should never let go of the ones you love, because you will end up missing them.

[Hlee Moua · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book, I feel in love with it. The artworks was fun and amazing and have a lot of imagination for young children. In this book, it talks about how it is ok to play with different gender and you shouldn't only play with girls if your a girl or boys if your a boy. For this book, I would defiantly read this book to the children and encourage them to play with everyone not just only their kind of race, gender or age and sometime even height!

[Kaylee Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book!

It would be good to read to elementary school aged students with a lesson about including everyone is the fun thing to do, making sure you’re clear that no one should be left out or bullied.

[MostlyDelores · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that my user name comes from. Smart, funny, feminist.

[Taylor Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores is about three friends who normally do everything together. Horace and Morris decide to go into the Mega-Mice clubhouse where no girls are allowed. Dolores was left on her own while the boys went to hangout with their other boy friends. Dolores decided to try out the all girls club, the Cheese Puffs. She did not like to do what the other girls liked to do. Dolores missed her adventures with Horace and Morris. She went to the Mega-Mice clubhouse and asked the boys who wanted to go exploring with her and Chloris. Chloris, Boris, Horace, Morris, and Dolores decided to create their own clubhouse where everyone was welcome. It was called the Frisky Whisker club.

This book highlights the issue of gender equality and inclusion. Horace and Morris and Dolores could not always do the same things like they wanted because certain genders were not allowed, however, they came up with a solution at the end of the book. This book could be used to introduce the topic of gender equality. I would ask students when they have felt like they could not be themselves because of gender stereotypes or when they were not allowed to do something because of their gender. This discussion would be beneficial because it would help students understand that certain things are not just for one gender. A girl is able to go on adventures and boys are allowed to draw.

[Amanda Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Children’s Fantasy book explores how children make new friendships and the trials of meeting new people. Dolores is an adventurous mouse who never says “no” to trying new things. She has a fun group of friends who one day decide they must do “boy things” with boys. Dolores thinks maybe she should do “girl things” with girls then. She meets new mice that bore here and refuse to seek adventure like her old friends. After becoming fed up with being restricted to just doing “girl things” she boldly decides to make her own path of constant adventure. Many girls follow her and she seeks to find more friends to find adventure with. Dolores asks the boys too if they want to adventure and her old friends decide to join her once more. The overarching themes of friendship and breaking gender norms give children messages of hope, kindness, and acknowledging that not everyone you meet will be your friend. This is a great social/emotional mentor text to walk children through how to find friends without compromising your own personality. This text offers opportunities for character analysis and critical thinking skills as well.

[Savannah Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a social issue that has to do with gender. Horrid, Morris and Dolores are all really good friends who can’t have a good time without one another. One day Horace and Morris decided that they couldn’t play with Dolores anymore and told her “a boy mouse must do what a boy mouse must do” and then they made a club and sent Dolores on her way. Dolores decided that a girl mouse so what a girl mouse must do and so she decided it was time to make her own club that was girls only. The mice missed each other dearly but decided to continue to go their separate ways. Dolores decided that she was bored and wanted to go on an adventure so she made friends with Chloris. The girls end up reuniting with the boys and then they make their own club where everyone is united. This book would be good in the classroom if you had children predict the ending and make their own ending to the narrative.

[Nakia Arquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores the topic of friendship and how boys and girls can, and should, be friends. Horace, Morris, and Dolores are friends and spending time together but then think they should be doing things with their own genders, respectively. Horace and Morris go to one club house and Dolores goes to another. After a while she becomes bored and asks if anyone wants to go adventure with her; Chloris wants to go! They venture over to the boys clubhouse and get Horace, Morris, Boris to adventure with them as well.

I thought this story was great to talk about friendship and not worrying about boy and girl things. This book would be great for young elementary kids in a lesson about friendship. And we all know eventually crushes and some issues come from boy and girl friendships happen; this would be great to help discuss those topics!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores by James Howe is a great book to have in the classroom. It is a story about three mice who go on lots of adventures together. One day Horace and Morris decide to start an all boys club called Mega-Mice and Dolores join an all girls club called the Cheese Puffs. This put a test to their friendship because since the groups did not allow the other gender to be apart of it, that left them separated and not being able to go on their adventures together. They have to try and rekindle their friendship. This book is a great book to use about friendship with students. The grade level best for this book is 2nd and 3rd grade because that is when the boy vs. girl situations occur. This book would also be a good book to use for testing your students comprehension. Mapping out the story to make sure your students understood what they read would be a great idea.

[Lena Platt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horace, Morris and Dolores are the best of friends. They do everything together. The more adventurous the better, especially Dolores. One day their friendship changes. Horace and Morris decide they have to do what boy mice have always done, go play without girls in an all-boys club. Dolores also decides she’ll join the other girls in what girl mice have always done. But Dolores isn’t happy and decides she wants to go explore. The other girl mice are aghast. Dolores has had enough of doing typical “girl” stuff and leaves. She heads to the boys’ club to be reunited with Horace and Morris. This story would be a good alternative text for students to analyze. The characters play and do activities that are outside of gender stereotypes. Students can analyze the intent of the author as well as discuss any viewpoints missing from the story.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving a friendship requires growth.

At least, for me, when there's a story about saving a friendship? In order for it to seem convincing to me, I must be persuaded that at least one of the friends has learned something, has grown.

Note: My first LOL came on Page 2. Many other laughs followed. Oh, so many wonderful puns and plays on words!

Equally wonderful, the ending is happy. And convincing. I'd say, all the characters learned something of value. Yum, that's my kind of friendship story.

* Thank you, JAMES HOWE. I'm so thrilled to read some of your picture books. Even though I liked "Bunnicula" I never loved it. These first two Horace and Morris books? Them I love.

* Thank you, AMY WALROD. The cleverness of your illustrations is so sympatico with the story and characters.

[Crystal (Books Are Sanity!!!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about three mice who are friends and so everything together. Then the two boys decide to join an all boys club and leave Delores out. So she joins an all girls club. Delores is pretty miserable and finally decides she wants to do something fun and go exploring. She asks if anyone wants to go with her. One other girl joins her. They head over to the boys club to invite them. It ends with five friends all playing together. I like the message that is shared with kids about trying to fit in doesn’t make you happy. Being with your friends and doing what you like makes you happy.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about Horace, Morris, and Dolores are big friends. They always do stuff together until Horace an Morris do a boys' club which girls aren't allowed. So they split up and kept saying, "A boy must do what a boy must do." And so Dolores found a club with no boys allowed and it's called the Cheese Puffs. And she didn't like it because she wanted Horace and Morris. And she said, "A girl must do what a girl must do." And then they came back together suddenly with a new friend. Suddenly dun dun dun dun suddenly.

[Tyler Schoening · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores is a great book to introduce to young students that explore gender perceptions. It presents them with the idea that boys and girls are separate, boys are meant to do boy things, and girls are meant to do girl things. But Dolores breaks down this wall and shows that boys and girls can play together and do the same things. It can open up conversations about differences in gender and how that does not make us separate kinds of people.

[Emily Grossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores by James Howe is a book about a group of friends who get pulled in different directions, but eventually discover what really matters to them. Horace, Morris and Delores, who are mice, love adventures and explore the world around them without fear. They are also best friends and always did everything together. Then one day they discover a club that looks interesting to them, but it is only for boys, so Horace and Morris go inside the club, leaving Dolores outside alone. Dolores proceeds to find a club for girls, which she also joins. Eventually, the three friends decide these separate clubs aren’t for them and they create their own club, which is for both boys and girls. They also bring new friends along with them into their club. I like the message of non-conformity and inclusion that this book tells through a great story full of mouse adventures.

[Liv Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a great story about friendship and being yourself. Students can learn that it is okay not to 'fit in' to the society norms and to just be yourself with people that you enjoy being with. The illustrations are a little abstract but goofy at the same time. It has a great message while having a fun, silly storyline.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horace, Morris and Dolores are the best of friends and they love adventure (especially Dolores!) But then one day, Horace and Morris have a difficult decision. They encounter a clubhouse (Mega-Mice, No Girls Allowed) and decide to join without Dolores. So Dolores goes to an all-girl clubhouse. But they miss each other and come back together to form a non-exclusion club.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace, Morris and Delores have been friends for a long time but when Horace and Morris join a boy's club (no girls allowed), their friendship gets tried. They learn that friendship is much better than meeting social expectations. They are best friends when they are free to be themselves. This is the first book in a great series.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read aloud that explores friendship and how friendships can be harmed when we exclude people. The author uses different sizes of print to tell the reader how the words should be read and the illustrator incorporates speech bubbles that add another layer of fun to this "cheesy" book.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fun story about friendship. Did not enjoy the illustrations, though colorful.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read aloud. Did not flow well.