CHARACTERS

 Lisa James – A 14-year-old. She is the prettiest girl in the school and is adored by
everyone, she is a pupil at Elm Forest School. Lisa loves Vogue, fashion, dresses
and shoes.

 Mr Hawtrey (called Mr Hawthorne in the TV movie) – An extremely strict and unfair

headteacher to the school. He expels Dennis for cross-dressing, but he himself
cross-dresses, too. He is played by Tim McInnerny in the TV version.

 Darvesh Singh – Dennis' best friend and is a Sikh, he's also in Dennis's football
club and is very polite, he is a student at Elm Forest School.

 Raj – Owner of a local newspaper-shop. He is kind and loves children.

 Dad (Called Peter Simms in the TV adaptation) – Dennis and John's father, whose
name is not revealed in the book. He is a long-distance lorry driver, who resorts to
comfort eating after his wife leaves.

 Dennis Sims - A 12-year-old. He lives with his brother, John, and his dad. Dennis
has a best friend called Darvesh. He lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary town
and he's different. He is a pupil at Elm Forest School. Dennis prefers wearing girl's
clothes instead of boy's clothes; with the help of Lisa, he invents a girl, "Denise",
who is a French exchange student.

SUMMARY
The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Dennis and his 14-year-old brother John, whose
parents divorced when Dennis was only 7. The boys live with their father, who resorts
to comfort eating after his wife leaves. Dennis is talented in football, and is one of the best
on his team. However, he deeply misses his mother, who left their family about five years
ago, and finds comfort remembering his mother's yellow dress in an old picture. Dennis
sees the same dress on the cover of a Vogue magazine, and buys a copy from Raj, the
local shop owner. But when Dad finds the magazine, he is furious. John teases him by
calling him "Denise". At school that day, Dennis is given detention for kicking a football
through a window. While in detention, he talks to a girl named Lisa James, the prettiest and
most fashionable girl in the school. Lisa invites him over to her house, and dresses him up
in girls' clothing. The two decide to go out in public, with Dennis, in an electric blue dress,
under the alter ego of "Denise", a French exchange student who speaks very little English.
They go to Raj's corner shop. Raj does not recognise Dennis, believing he is "Denise".
Following their success in fooling Raj, Dennis goes to school with Lisa – as "Denise".
Dennis upsets his French teacher by criticizing her French accent. At break, Dennis kicks a
football, slips, and is revealed to be a boy. Mr Hawtrey, the headmaster, expels him from
the school for cross-dressing. Dad is furious, and sends Dennis to his room. Darvesh,
Dennis's best friend, comes over, but is sent back to his home by Dad. Pushed by Darvesh,
Dennis goes to an important football match on Saturday, where his entire team encourages
him to play in a dress. The team wins against Maudlin Street, the rival football team.
Dennis's dad attends the match, forgives Dennis and defends him from Mr Hawtrey. On an
early Sunday morning, Raj informs Dennis that Mr Hawtrey's sister, Doris, buys
the Telegraph now instead of him. He adds that there is "something funny about her". Lisa
and Dennis go to Raj's shop and find out that Doris is actually Mr Hawtrey cross-dressing in
a skirt. The two threaten that unless Dennis is readmitted to the school, they will tell
everyone about Mr Hawtrey's cross-dressing habits. Mr Hawtrey agrees to reinstate Dennis
At the end of the story, Dennis, his dad, and his brother get over the pain of the loss of
Dennis's mother, Dennis and Lisa stay friends, and John starts to look out for his younger
brother more.

OR
The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Dennis and his 14-year-old brother John, whose parents
divorced when Dennis was only 7. The boys live with their father, who resorts to comfort eating
after his wife leaves. Dennis is talented in football, and is one of the best on his team. However, he
deeply misses his mother, who left their family about five years ago, and finds comfort
remembering his mother's yellow dress in an old picture. Dennis sees the same dress on the cover
of a Vogue magazine, and buys a copy from Raj, the local shop owner. But when Dad finds the
magazine, he is furious. John teases him by calling him «Denise». At school that day, Dennis is given
detention for kicking a football through a window. While in detention, he talks to a girl named Lisa
James, the prettiest and most fashionable girl in the school. Lisa invites him over to her house, and
dresses him up in girls' clothing. The two decide to go out in public, with Dennis, in an electric blue
dress, under the alter ego of «Denise», a French exchange student who speaks very little English.
They go to Raj's corner shop. Raj does not recognise Dennis, believing he is «Denise». Following
their success in fooling Raj, Dennis goes to school with Lisa – as «Denise».
Dennis upsets his French teacher by criticizing her French accent. At break, Dennis kicks a football,
slips, and is revealed to be a boy. Mr Hawtrey, the headmaster, expels him from the school for
cross-dressing. Dad is furious, and sends Dennis to his room. Darvesh, Dennis's best friend, comes
over, but is sent back to his home by Dad. Pushed by Darvesh, Dennis goes to an important football
match on Saturday, where his entire team encourages him to play in a dress. The team wins against
Maudlin Street, the rival football team. Dennis's dad attends the match, forgives Dennis and
defends him from Mr Hawtrey. On an early Sunday morning, Raj informs Dennis that Mr Hawtrey's
sister, Doris, buys the Telegraph now instead of him. He adds that there is «something funny about
her». Lisa and Dennis go to Raj's shop and find out that Doris is actually Mr Hawtrey cross-dressing
in a skirt. The two threaten that unless Dennis is readmitted to the school, they will tell everyone
about Mr Hawtrey's cross-dressing habits. Mr Hawtrey agrees to reinstate Dennis.
At the end of the story, Dennis, his dad, and his brother get over the pain of the loss of Dennis's
mother, Dennis and Lisa stay friends, and John starts to look out for his younger brother more.
The story is about a 12-year-old boy named Dennis and his older brother John, whose parents
divorced when Dennis was only 7, so the boys live with their father. Dennis is talented in football,
and is one of the best on his team. However, he deeply misses his mother, who left their family
about five years ago, and finds comfort remembering his mother's yellow dress in an old picture.
Dennis sees the same dress on the cover of a Vogue magazine, and buys a copy from Raj, the local
shop owner. But when Dad finds the magazine, he is furious. John teases him by calling him
«Denise». At school that day, Dennis is given detention for kicking a football through a window.
While in detention, he talks to a girl named Lisa, the prettiest and most fashionable girl in the
school. Lisa invites him over to her house, and dresses him up in girls' clothing. The two decide to
go out in public, with Dennis, in an electric blue dress, under the alter ego of «Denise», a French
exchange student who speaks very little English. They go to Raj's corner shop. Raj does not
recognise Dennis, believing he is «Denise». Following their success in fooling Raj, Dennis goes to
school with Lisa – as «Denise».
Dennis upsets his French teacher by criticizing her French accent. At break, Dennis kicks a football,
slips, and is revealed to be a boy. Mr Hawtrey, expels him from the school for cross-dressing. Dad is
furious, and sends Dennis to his room. Darvesh, Dennis's best friend, comes over, but is sent back
to his home by Dad. Pushed by Darvesh, Dennis goes to an important football match on Saturday,
where his entire team encourages him to play in a dress. The team wins against Maudlin Street, the
rival football team. Dennis's dad attends the match, forgives Dennis and defends him from Mr
Hawtrey. On an early Sunday morning, Raj informs Dennis that Mr Hawtrey's sister, Doris, buys the
Telegraph now instead of him. He adds that there is «something funny about her». Lisa and Dennis
go to Raj's shop and find out that Doris is actually Mr Hawtrey cross-dressing in a skirt. The two
threaten that unless Dennis is readmitted to the school, they will tell everyone about Mr Hawtrey's
cross-dressing habits. Mr Hawtrey agrees to reinstate Dennis.
At the end of the story, Dennis, his dad, and his brother get over the pain of the loss of Dennis's
mother, Dennis and Lisa stay friends, and John starts to look out for his younger brother more.