‘Colorless Chameleon’ teaches us to stand out, speak up

Achameleon with no colors? How can that be? Any child must know one of the defining features of these cute lizards is that they are multicolored, and have the incredible ability to change colors.

So how does one wind up with no colors at all? That’s the storyline for “The Colorless Chameleon,” a delightful book for kindergartners and up written by Rachel Bostick, Hayley Irvin and Cassidy Reynolds.

As the jungle animals prepare for an upcoming party, along comes Chameleon, in all her glorious color and splendor. Elephant is first to ask whether he can borrow one of the colors to spruce up for the party. Before you know it, Chameleon has lost her blue, and Elephant is covered in it. This little exchange is repeated with Lemur, who takes Chameleon’s red, and Crocodile with yellow, leaving Chameleon without a single color at all.

Now the book’s teaching moment kicks in. Even though this is a simple picture book, it instills the important message that children must use their words to be heard and understood. Heaven knows that gaining the courage and clarity of purpose to confront an uncomfortable situation and speak up when needed is a difficult undertaking even for many adults. So imagine how intimidating a task this could be for young children, and of course, a little chameleon.

The writing is clever and simple, and allows children to relate to Chameleon’s dilemma. Also, the vivid illustrations by Samantha Jo Phan help children engage with the story and easily follow its theme.

Chameleon seeks advice from her good friend Flamingo, who uses her voice to boost Chameleon’s gray-colored spirit. And she offers this valuable counsel, “You’ve always stood out with all of your colors. But flamingos are only one color, and our voices are all we have. It may not always be easy, but we have to use our voices if we want our friends to understand us.”

“The Colorless Chameleon” is presented by Weeva Kids, an all-new line of books committed to creating art for children. With every book, young readers are invited to explore the infinite possibilities of their own imaginations and encourage their efforts to make the world a better, more vibrant place. Visit kids.weeva.com to learn more.

Chameleon approaches Elephant, Lemur and Crocodile and uses her words. While the three animals all have different reactions, they all understand and give Chameleon her colors back.

The party is magnificent and all are happy in the jungle — the Chameleon with her magnificent colors and the jungle with its wide array of exciting voices.