We’ve rounded up our favourite factual and fiction books about chameleons.
If we’ve missed one of yours please add it in the comments.
If you would like to see more information for a book clicking on the picture will take you to the Amazon. Teachers Telling Tales are not affiliates and recommend supporting local, independent book stores where possible.
Chameleon Tales – Stories
Chameleons are such charismatic and fascinating creatures and their unique characteristics have inspired so many picture book authors and illustrators to create colourful and engaging stories.
First let’s begin with the all-time classic, The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. A gentle, amusing story with a deeper meaning about being content with being ourselves. Fantastic for introducing vocabulary for colours, patterns, animals and body parts, this book is great for English learners.
My Colourful Chameleon by Leonie Roberts, illustrated by Mike Byrne. “The trouble is we lose her. It drives Mum round the bend! I must admit it’s really hard to spot my little friend.” A lovely book for sharing together, young children will love to find the chameleon in the illustrations.
Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett. An entertaining story that has all the feels! He can turn himself into anything and appear to fit in anywhere, but it seems that neither the swirly snail, the green grasshopper nor the stripy sock want to be friends. Will he ever find someone to talk to? Someone just like him? The subtle and witty interplay between words and illustrations makes this book enjoyable for adults to read and reread and it is a good introduction to colours and shapes for younger audiences.
The Delicious Bug by Janet Perlman is perfect for exploring ideas of friendship, cooperation and conflict resolution. Willy and Wally both catch a delicious bug at the same time. As they argue and fight, their actions lead to trouble that threatens the peace of the whole forest. Can they agree to work together and share?
Rose Williamson’s Look at Me! Look at Me! teaches children to be thankful for what they’re given in a silly and colourful way. Cammy loves to get lots of attention, but she begins to realise that showing off isn’t always worth it and that she can be happy being a regular chameleon again—at least most of the time! Beautifully illustrated by Doreen Marts.
Leon the Chameleon has a problem. When the other little chameleons turn green, yellow or blue, he turns red, purple or orange! Being different makes Leon feel lonely until one day it turns out to be very useful. As well as an engaging story and that explores feelings, it introduces basic colour theory. There is a colour wheel at the back of the book that shows primary colours and their complementary hues.
A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni. Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Only the chameleon has no color of his own. He is purple like the heather, yellow like a lemon, even black and orange striped like a tiger! Then one day a chameleon has an idea to remain one color forever by staying on the greenest leaf he can find. But in the autumn, the leaf changes from green to yellow to red . . . and so does the chameleon. When another chameleon suggests they travel together, he learns that companionship is more important than having a color of his own. No matter where he goes with his new friend, they will always be alike. A good book for stimulating discussion.
Do You Still Love Me? by Charlotte Middleton. This story with bold, graphic illustrations is good for exploring emotions, especially for children with a new baby at home or perhaps an older sibling who they have to share attention with. Dudley, once a happy dog, finds it difficult when Anna brings home Pequito, an adorable baby chameleon.
Chamelia and Chamelia and the New Kid in Class by Ethan Long
Most chameleons are famous for their amazing camouflage skills and prefer to fit in, but Chamelia the chameleon prefers to stand out. She just loves being the center of attention. But when standing out means being left out, can Chamelia learn to share the spotlight? Playfully illustrated with collages using fabric patterns and textures. There are great stories for children developing interpersonal skills in social settings.
Chameleon’s Colors is great for talking about patterns. The chameleon in the story is tired of constantly changing colors. He blends in wherever he goes and no one ever sees him. The other animals in the jungle wish that they could look different, so Chameleon sets to work painting stripes on the lion, polka-dots on the elephant using every color and pattern under the sun. But as the animals soon learn, changing their original appearance causes problems they never expected…
Tormented every morning by leopard and bullied by crocodile, the clever little chameleon decides to play a trick on them. He manages to get the better of his two oppressors without them even knowing how he did it! This is the story of why Crafty Chameleon changes colour and hides when he hears you coming.
Chameleon Truths – information texts
Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley and Nic Bishop (Photographer) One brave chameleon ventures from the safety of his tree in search of a new home. On his journey, he meets other rain forest animals, not all of them friendly! Wonderful photographs and simple text perfect for young children is rounded out with lots of information.
Crazy About Chameleons?
Check out the Teachers Telling Tales blog post which has links to activity resources including a follow-up story to The Mixed-Up Chameleon that explores animal patterns through a quiz, an interactive pattern matching game, chameleon treasure hunt and presentation on facts about chameleons. You can also download a free chameleon maze.