Horace and Morris Say Cheese (Which Makes Dolores Sneeze!) [Hardcover]

James Howe (Author), Amy Walrod (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Horace and Morris

Horace and Morris (but mostly Dolores) love cheese. To them, Swiss is bliss, Muenster is magnificent, and nothing’s better than cheddar. But everything changes when Dolores develops an allergy to her favorite food. Even worse, a food festival is coming to town, featuring—what else?— cheese! Fortunately, Dolores is one resourceful little mouse. And she comes up with a solution to her problem that is far from cheesy! Once again, the creators of the popular Horace, Morris, and Dolores books tackle a common childhood dilemma with verve and panache.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–The three mouse friends are back in a story about Dolores's new and unfortunate allergy. When she eats cheese, she sneezes and breaks out in itchy spots. Dolores could not imagine life without cheese. It was her favorite thing to eat! Can she quit it cold turkey? Even with the town's Everything Cheese Festival coming up? Soon Dolores learns that she can go on after a setback, and also that, when it comes to making lunches, a little creativity goes a long way. Fans of the other books about these appealing rodents will find the same rhythmic ease in the writing, and the same light touch with a message. Walrod's colorful cartoon-style artwork adds lots of humor and personality. Allergy sufferers will find this reassuring in a nondidactic way, and all kids will smile, even without saying cheese.–Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
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About the Author

James Howe is the author of over eighty books for young readers, including the modern classic Bunnicula and its highly popular sequels.  In 2001, Howe published The Misfits, the story of four outcast seventh-graders who try to end name-calling in their school.  The Misfits is now widely read and studied in middle schools throughout the country, and was the inspiration for the national movement known as No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org ), an event observed by thousands of middle and elementary schools annually.   Totally Joe, a companion novel to The Misfits, was published in 2005, and a second companion novel, Addie on the Inside, is being published in 2011.  Howe’s many other books for children from preschool through teens frequently deal with the acceptance of difference and being true to oneself.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689839405
• ISBN-13: 978-0689839405
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #528,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read and fun to look at., March 22, 2011

By 

Dan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Horace and Morris Say Cheese (Which Makes Dolores Sneeze!) (Horace and Morris and Dolores) (Paperback)

I don't think I've ever offered a review here, but we love this book, and I want to offer a different opinion than the review already posted here.

We just borrowed this book from the library for my 2 year old son and he loves it. We borrow about 10 picture-books a week, every week, so he sees many children's books. This has been one of his favorites. It might give you an idea of how my 2 year olds taste runs if I mention he also loves "Bob The Chicken" and "Click Clack Moo". I see a vague similarity between the rhyming/rhythmic text of this book, and the cadence of the text of those other 2 books, but no similarity between the illustration styles.

This is our first exposure to Horace, Morris & Dolores. We'll be checking out the other 2 books as well. The text in this one is lyrical and provides the full story (you don't need to have read the previous 2 books for this one to work), complete with plot and character development, but the book also has a few pages of illustrations without added text so that you and your child can embellish the story together.

I disagree with the other review here that says the pictures are dark and the cartoonish depiction of the characters is problematic since it leaves them unidentifiable as mice. The last page of the book depicts a street fair at night. It looks just like that, and it shows Dolores finding a way to feel that she belongs even if she can't participate as she originally wanted to. That page has 3 words on it and an enormous amount of detail in the image so that you and your child can explore the scene, and talk about the story and the pictures. As to how the characters look, I don't think children have such a strong need to be literal. The characters are very cute and visually engaging, and the illustrations are very accessible for the very young. For example, the style of the drawings is reminiscent of how a child might try to draw and the colors are just a shade away from primary.

I read somewhere that picture books are a child's first exposure to art, so you should choose books with great illustrations for your kids. I think this book qualifies on that score. It's also fun to read and conveys a good message without being condescending.