A Color of His Own

A Color of His Own. written and illustrated by Leo Lionni. 1975. 32p. New York: Albert A. Knopf. (0679887857). 

Author/Illustrator Website: none

Medium: stamping and watercolor

Awards and Honors: none

Audience: 2-5 years old

Annotation:

A little chameleon searches for a color all his own.

Personal Reaction:

All animals have a color of their own; elephants are gray, pigs are pink, and parrots are green. But the chameleon changes color wherever he goes.

One little chameleon feel sad that he will never have a color of his own, so he hatches a scheme to stay green forever by sitting on the leaf of a tree. He doesn't count on the leaf changing colors with the season, though. He is soon disappointed again, until he meets another chameleon and they decide to stick together so that they will always share the same color.

A Color of His Own is a lovely tale of individuality and friendship. As always with Lionni's work, the book has the flavor of a modern parable, combining a simple, yet important, message with the artistry of Lionni's illustrations.