Amazon.com Review
Poor, mixed-up chameleon Clyde. His mother (very feminine in pink lipstick) tries and tries to teach him about changing his skin color in order to hide from predators, but all he ever does is turn red on green leaves, yellow on blue stones, and purple on orange flowers. But when he inadvertently winds up in an unfamiliar landscape one day—-a human's laundry room--Clyde passes the chameleon camouflage test... in flying colors!
Russell Benfanti's striking 3-D illustrations virtually jump off the page at the reader in a way reminiscent of William Joyce (Rolie Polie Olie) or David Kirk (Little Miss Spider). The glossy, vibrant, full-page pictures of Clyde transforming himself over pink polka-dot socks and jars of buttons appear opposite rhyming verse about the lizard's predicament: "Now Clyde wasn't slow, or even dumb, / But when he tried to match colors, / He stood out like a sore thumb." Young readers who have had trouble learning new skills will appreciate Clyde's story and cheer at his sudden success. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Unlike his quick-changing family members, Clyde the chameleon has trouble blending into his jungle environment. "When he sat on stones shiny and blue, He made his skin yellow. It's sad but it's true!" He despairs of matching the vermilion flowers and emerald-green leaves of his usual habitat, but when he accidentally loses his way in a man-made house, he realizes he must adapt or perish. "He hid in some buttons and then on a shoe, It was amazing, the matching that Clyde could now do!" Toy designer Benfanti makes his debut with this easy-on-the-eyes volume, also available as an e-book (at www.ipicturebooks.com). Stripy, smooth-skinned lizards make ideal subjects for his software-generated art and his tropical palette of rain-forest green and orchid pink. Yet the clunky rhymes don't scan ("Now Clyde wasn't slow, or even dumb, But when he tried to match colors, He stood out like a sore thumb"; and later, "Clyde could blend with any color, pattern, or trim This was lots of fun, 'cause no one could see him") and the flimsy story seems strung together to showcase the sleek artwork. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
