My Colourful Chameleon Book Review

28th January 2018

Written by Emma Davis

My Colourful Chameleon is a heart-warming and humorous tale of a little girl and her unusual, colour changing pet.    Although very much loved by her owner, the chameleon is not at all popular with Mum who ‘says that she’s a pest!’ Unfortunately, the chameleon’s colour changing ability means that she is constantly getting lost and ends up disguised in lots of funny places.  Children will delight in finding her hiding, camouflaged against different coloured objects.  This is fantastic for reinforcing colour knowledge!

The rhyming text makes flows easily when being read and means it is easy for children to follow and understand.  The story will be so popular with little ones that they will soon be shouting ‘again, again’ as they did when I read it at my setting.  Children were soon able to retell the story, join in with rhyming words and think about what might happen if they had a pet chameleon living at their house.  We had some wonderful discussions inspired by the book, including the children wanting to find out more information about chameleons.

Gorgeous illustrations throughout enable children to easily retell the story by looking at the pictures.  The bright, bold colours are striking, offering a perfect backdrop for the adventures of the chameleon.  My favourite is when the chameleon is taken to school for show and tell…it’s got trouble written all over it!

What happens in the end…perhaps mum grows to love the chameleon or does the little girl have more convincing to do? This really is a ‘must read’ for young children.  Not only does it introduce a creature that many might not have heard of but it considers the responsibility of pet ownership in a light hearted way.  I particularly like the  suggested next steps at the back of book which can be used to continue learning by promoting discussion and understanding.

This book was thoroughly enjoyed by children aged 2-4 at my Preschool setting who have asked for it many times since the initial reading.  It was a pleasure to read aloud, watching the children’s faces light up and giggle at the chameleon’s adventures. You just can’t help but love the chameleon! I would like to share the joy by giving away a free copy to a lucky reader of this review.  Please email marketing@broadwayevents.co.uk with your name and contact details and a winner will be chosen at random.  The closing date is 14^th February. Good luck!