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A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni, 1976, New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0679887850.
Age/Interest Level: 2-5 years
Lexile Level: 640L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A chameleon feels cursed because no matter what he does, he can’t find his own color. Latching onto a leaf, he’s determined to stay there so that he can remain green.
Plot Summary: A chameleon is dismayed to realize that he never stays the color of a chameleon. Instead, he has to adapt to all of the colors around him. He finally stumbles across a beautiful green leaf and latches onto it, thinking it will help him stay green forever. However, as winter approaches, the green fades to brown, and so does the chameleon. Things might be looking up, though, when he discovers a chameleon who is just like him.
Critical Evaluation: Leo Lionni provides a beautiful sense of color, once again placing a watercolor creature onto a white background so that he pops and begins to feel real. It’s certainly an attention-getting style. Lionni uses this sense of color and a chameleon’s adaptive power to showcase what it means to always be changing. He highlights the loneliness and isolation of it, but also gives a glimmer of hope in this stunning board book.
Why Included: This work is a great story and Lionni is a master of the craft. His illustrations provide rich characters even though they are quite obviously watercolors. This has a very real story for children, showing that it is okay to be yourself.
Age/Interest Level: 2-5 years
Lexile Level: 640L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A chameleon feels cursed because no matter what he does, he can’t find his own color. Latching onto a leaf, he’s determined to stay there so that he can remain green.
Plot Summary: A chameleon is dismayed to realize that he never stays the color of a chameleon. Instead, he has to adapt to all of the colors around him. He finally stumbles across a beautiful green leaf and latches onto it, thinking it will help him stay green forever. However, as winter approaches, the green fades to brown, and so does the chameleon. Things might be looking up, though, when he discovers a chameleon who is just like him.
Critical Evaluation: Leo Lionni provides a beautiful sense of color, once again placing a watercolor creature onto a white background so that he pops and begins to feel real. It’s certainly an attention-getting style. Lionni uses this sense of color and a chameleon’s adaptive power to showcase what it means to always be changing. He highlights the loneliness and isolation of it, but also gives a glimmer of hope in this stunning board book.
Why Included: This work is a great story and Lionni is a master of the craft. His illustrations provide rich characters even though they are quite obviously watercolors. This has a very real story for children, showing that it is okay to be yourself.