The Mixed-Up Chameleon

by Eric Carle

From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug , comes a colorful and inventive book about a changing chameleon that wants to be a little bit of everything. There once was a small green chameleon that wished to be handsome like a flamingo, smart like a fox, and funny like a seal. But with each transformation in size, shape, and color, the chameleon learns that maybe being yourself is best of all! The Mixed-Up Chameleon is sure to delight little readers with its interactive art, funny antics, and heartwarming message. This board book edition is the perfect size for small hands and features sturdy pages. Other favorite classic books from Eric Carle include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, From Head to Toe, and many others.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Storytime, Fantasy, Art

32 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out more Picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

The mixed up chameleon is unhappy with himself and when he visits a zoo wishes to be other animals... as his wish comes true he realizes he wants to be simply... himself.

My nephew was quite puzzled at this book and frankly so was I! We read it together but couldn't seem to understand why it was cobbling other animals onto itself. I had to hit reviews and the afterward to finally understand what was happening. Normally the cut outs are super cool and a highlight of a Carle book but this time the flaps with the animals were confusing and made the book rather pointless to us.

Some of the things the chameleon wanted were rather senseless (the flamingo was handsome but it took the bird's wings!?) and so the entire story just got muddy for us. It wasn't enjoyable at all and my nephew rushed through reading it to get it done. It was quite sad because we normally adore Eric Carle books from the reading to the learning we get about the animal he highlights.

With the right child this may work! It they understand why there is a monster being built in front of them then this may be fun. But for my literal special needs nephew this was all kinds of wrong. I didn't enjoy the art AT ALL this time and didn't get the rainbow at the end and really the art was so disappointing to me!

BOTTOM LINE: The cover is the best image of the entire book!

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You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...

[Canette Arille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairy tale about a chameleon. It's about a chameleon that changes places and then changes colors at the same time. Also when he has different emotions, for example when he is hungry, he also changes colors. A smile appeared on my lips, when I saw this chameleon. Because his eyes and mouth are funny drawn. A chameleon can suddenly put you in a good mood :-D. The chameleon spends most of its time in the meadow, but one day it finds a zoo, and has never seen so many animals before. He wanted to be like other animals, and his wish came true. Suddenly a fly appeared. The chameleon was very hungry, but he couldn't catch her because he was mixed with other animals, so he suddenly said that he wanted to be himself. His wish came true, and the chameleon became himself again. Then he caught a fly and was no longer hungry.

The book teaches children to appreciate themselves, rather than be someone else, and to distinguish animals. The book made me laugh Is so funny.. The children will be happy :)

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Be true to yourself and you can eat as many flies as you like has to be one of the weirdest morals ever, but I'm still not impressed with this transforming lizard and its self-image issues.

[Yousra · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب 📘 #الحرباء_الحائرة
#TheMixedUpChameleon
تأليف ورسوم ✍🏻🎨 #إريك_كارل
#EricCarle
ترجمة📝 د. #محمد_عناني
إصدار #دار_البلسم

أحب هذه القصة ويحبها أصغر أبنائي... أذكر أنني قرأتها له وهو صغير جدا وأذكر أنها استدعت دهشته... ولا أعلم لماذا لم أكتب عنها حين قرأناها أول مرة!... في أغلب الوقت يكون السبب المانع للكتابة هو ضيق الوقت ليس أكثر فالكتب التي قرأناها كثيرة بينما الوقت قليل وبخاصة وقت الفراغ الذي أستطيع استغلاله في الراحة أو المزيد من القراءة أو الدخول في طقوس الكتابة عن القراءات التي أحببناها والترتيب لمنشور أضعه على صفحتي.
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ويبدو أن هذا يكون أحيانا في صالح الكتب... تخيلوا أن يكتب الجميع عن الكتاب الحلو في نفس الوقت ثم يختفي المنشور وتذهب سيرة الكتاب!... عن نفسي وفيما يتعلق بالقراءة مع أولادي لا يُقرأ الكتاب مرة واحدة فقط بل المرة تلو الأخرى حتى يبلى الكتاب، أما الكتابة عنه فتكون بالإلهام أو من وحي آخر قراءة له وفقط عند توافر الفرصة لكنني حتى وإن لم أكتب عن كل ما قرأناه من كتب فأنا لا أبخس كتابا أحببناه حقه في الترشيحات أبدا 🤗🤗
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وهذا كتاب جميل التقطه ابني منذ أيام طالبا إعادة قرائته ثم كان لي شرف أن قرأته لمجموعة من الأطفال في وقت ومكان بنفس جمال الكتاب فأنا أحب إريك كارل وبساطته في كل شيء... الأفكار والرسوم والرسالة.
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حينما قرأته للمرة الثانية لطفلي استمتعت بدهشته التي صاحبها هذه المرة فهم الموضوع واستيعاب ما يحدث للحرباء من تغيرات... وحينما طُلب مني اختيار كتاب للقراءة للأطفال في تجمع كانت #مكتبة_تنمية طرفا فيه سألت ابني... ماذا أقرأ؟ فاقترحه ضمن ثلاثة كتب وقد كان له ما أراد 🤩
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الحرباء الصغيرة تعيش حياة بسيطة روتينية... وفي يوم من الأيام تشاهد العديد من الحيوانات في حديقة الحيوانات... حيوانات مدهشة تشعر بجانبها بضآلة الحجم والبطء والضعف، فتتمنى أن يصبح لديها من كل حيوان ما أحبت من صفات. وفي الحقيقة فقد كانت مع كل أمنية تكتسب شيئا من صفات الحيوان الجسدية وليس بالضرورة ما تمنته، ونرى الحرباء وقد اختلط جسدها بأجزاء من أجساد الحيوانات الأخرى.
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كانت قراءة الكتاب للأطفال بنفس القدر من الإمتاع والدهشة! وسعدت بسماع تخمينات الأطفال الأكبر سنا بخصوص غرابة ما ستصبح الحرباء عليه... واستمتعت كذلك برغبتهم في مشاهدة الرسومات.
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كنت أقرب الكتاب من كل طفل ورغم أن الوقت كان ليلا والمكان مفتوح والإضاءة خافتة إلا أن رد فعل إحدى الأمهات كان رائعا فقد فتحت لي كشاف تليفونها المحمول حتى يرى الأطفال رسومات الكتاب.
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هل يمكن أن نتمنى ما للغير من صفات شكلية وجسدية؟ هل يمكن كلما أعجبنا شيئا لدى الغير أن نطلبه ونتمناه لأنفسنا؟🥹 هل أصبحت الحرباء أكثر سعادة مع شكلها الجديد؟ 😃 هل عرفت قيمة ما لديها من صفات تناسب حياتها؟ 😃
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القصة تناسب العمر ٤ إلى ٨ تقريبا وهي مميزة فعلا.
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#اقرأ_مع_يسرا #اقرأ_لطفلك #اقرأ_مع_طفلك #قصص_أطفال #كتب_أطفال #أدب_الطفل #دور_نشر_مصرية #قصص_أطفال_مترجمة

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as everyone's Eric Carle favourite - the Very Hungry Caterpillar. The face of the chameleon who never quite matches his surroundings is precious. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a book to entertain them as much as their child.

[Essareh · Rating 5 out of 5]

کانون پرورش فکری این کتاب رو با اسم «آفتاب‌پرست عجیب» منتشر کرده.
اگه روزی سرپرستی بچه‌ای با من باشه، این کتاب رو براش می‌خونم؛ چون می‌خوام اعتماد به‌نفس داشته باشه، توانایی‌هاش رو ببینه و با خودش راحت باشه.
[آدم‌بزرگ درونم، درحال تربیت فسقلی درونم.]

[Khaliyah McKenzie (EDUC 378) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text -to-Self Connection:

I loved reading this book because it reminds everyone that reads the book to remember the saying that goes “The grass is not always greener”. The chameleon was very displeased with how he felt left out on some of the other things that the animals could do that he lost sight of what was important. To always just be yourself, and that being your own person is not a bad thing. I know that is something personally I have dealt with in life growing up. I always felt like I needed to change or be a certain way to fit in with others and it was exhausting to do all the time. Sometimes as a result you tend to forget that you’re human and it’s okay to be in a place of your own and to know that life isn’t a race. I really enjoyed this book and it really brought the message of acceptance and happiness that I enjoyed so much.

[İdil Alter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Müthiş!

[kei ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a vibe

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story; as usual Eric Carle's illustrations just jump off the page, making everything seem alive. This story was a good follow up for the kids discussion on chameleons today. It reinforced what they learned about chameleons changing colors. A few pictures also supported the fact that a chameleon's eyes are independent of each other and can look two ways at once, I never knew this before so that was interesting. If I hadn't seen my cooperating teacher mention this to the class I would have thought Eric Illustrated the chameleon's eyes as a bit freakish on purpose!

Other than as a follow up after a lesson about chameleons, this book is a great story in general. It has a cumulative effect where each animal the chameleon wants to be is illustrated tiny on the side of each page, the number of them growing as the story progresses. On the other side of the page, the colors of each animal are added as the story goes on as well. The kids thought it was hilarious to see how weird the chameleon looked every time he wanted to look more like another animal on each page.Overall a great book, lots of color and lots of fun for kids.

[Matt Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a chameleon who goes to a zoo and sees all of the other unique animals and wishes it could have all of the other characteristics that the animals have. The chameleon receives features of every animal that he likes, but ends up not being too mixed up and wishes to be himself again.

A lot of staples that are found in books by Carle can be found in this one. He uses repetition to progress the evolution of the chameleon, while using cutouts of the animals on the left-side of the page to show the progression as well. Carle's iconic collage style art is also used in this book. This book can be used to teach many different things. It can be used to teach colors, it can be used to teach how adjectives are used, and it can be used to teach the names and features of different animals. Anthropomorphism is also utilized in this book. Overall, it makes for a very entertaining and informative child's read.

[Ashtyn Baribault · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a chameleon who changes colors depending on his surroundings. The chameleon decides to go to the zoo where there are many animals. The chameleon wishes he could be like all the other animals at the zoom. After wishing he could be all the other animals the chameleon realizes that he needs to be himself in order to be happy, so he wishes to be himself again. This book can teach children how to be happy with themselves. Even though you can like other people or things, in the end being yourself is what will make you the most happy. I think this book would be great to have in the classroom so whenever a student is struggling with themselves they can be a reminder that being themselves is the best they can be. The illustrations throughout the book are very colorful which will appear to young readers. The bright colors help to show the other animals that the chameleon changed into.

[Rachel Manak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is written in a portrait orientation. The end pages are textured like leaves or a fern which fits with the subject of the story which is about a chameleon. The colors are very bright and colorful. The illustrations are done in a collage with paper cut into shapes and made into the animals. If there is a ground in the illustration, it is full bleed whereas most of the illustrations are done on a white background. The text is very simple. The illustrations are very unrealistic with a lot of color and imagination. The shapes are very shapely with straight edges, rather than smooth edges. There are no frames. When you get about half way through the book, you reach the cut outs on the edge of the page which label what the chameleon wishes it could be. The cut outs make the book fun and playful.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text-to-Text Connection

The Mixed up Chameleon becomes bored with his daily routine until one day he sees the zoo. As he begins to admire characteristics about the other animals he wishes he could be anything but himself. I would compare The Mixed up Chameleon to the book A Color of His Own, which is also about a chameleon. However, the chameleon in A Color of His Own is simply looking for a color of his own instead of always camouflaging with objects in his environment. A great response activity for these books would be to have students choose one book and complete a character map for the character in their book. Then, as a group activity use chart paper to compare and contrast the details the students came up with. Another fun response activity would be to have the students write a narrative piece from the perspective of the chameleon.

[James Vickery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great addition to any Elementary classroom. This book hits many learning points such as the recognition and labeling of colors and the characteristics of a Chameleon species. The story goes on to reveal that being your self is usually the best choice. The story conveys that it might seem like other people have important qualities that are of greater importance than you’re your own, but embracing your own qualities as being unique and important is key. This story has illustrations that would be extremely humorous to a young audience as the Chameleon gains body parts from different animals throughout the story.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but I didn't really understand it until I read the Author Bio at the end, after the story. It was only upon reading about Eric Carle's process (or inspiration?) for writing this book that I understood why the chameleon ended up with parts of all the animals he had seen on him.

So this was a fun story, but it just seemed fun - without point - until after I read the Author Bio. :-(

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chameleon becomes bored with his life after seeing all the unique animals at the zoo. He discovers he can change his size and shape as well as his color.

It was fun to teach my son about chameleons; how they can change colors and their eyes move independently (which was portrayed correctly in the book). As always, Eric Carle's illustrations are beautiful and the story was a sweet one, too.

[Maryam Fiaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is similar to a colour of his own by Leo Leonni. The story follows a chameleon who doesn't appreciate his own qualities and wishes to be like others, until he realises being himself is the only way he feels right. The illustrations are done in the same style as the hungry caterpillar and so seem familiar. Overall a great book for children in key stage 1 and foundation stage.

[Alex Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imbalanced text-to-illustration ratio, and Carle's abstract style doesn't lend itself perfectly well to what the book is trying to do (chameleon tries to look like a bunch of different zoo animals), but it's a fun book to use for talking about animals and colors.

[Stacy Hait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Carle is fabulous. My daughter and I love all his books!!!

[Megan Knippenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Eric Carle's style... he creates quite the hybrid animal in this book!

[Sanja_Sanjalica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful story with a strong message. A book to hug.

[Andrea Jeter]

Text-to-world connection.


Are we happy with ourselves??? Would we like to be someone else???? This book was a great way to explain the thought process of many people. A lot of people are not happy with who they are. Just like in the book we as people wish we can be something or someone else. Just because someone or something look good doesn’t mean it is good. In my opinion we as people get so wrapped in what we see on the outside and thinking that is all good when it is not. Just like the chameleon in the book wished to be all these different things and he still wasn’t happy. That’s just like life. You can have all the money or even wish to be whatever or whom ever. If you do not accept you for you , you still will be unhappy. We were all created to be different. No person is this world is the same. Learn how to accept and love yourself for who you are. This may be hard for some people because they have been wanting to be someone or something else for so long. After the chameleon realized trying to be all these different animals or people and that didn’t make him happy. He finally accepted his self for who he was. I think the moral of this story is just remembering to love you no matter what. In order for someone else to love and accept you, you have to love , accept, and be confident in who you are first.

[Mairéad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favourites from Eric Carle but this is an interesting way to get young children thinking about the importance of being true to themselves, full of bizarre illustrations that readers aged 5+ will enjoy.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s great to be me! Loved this one.

[Amy Bruestle]

All of Eric Carle's books are PERFECT reads for all kids!!!!!!!!

[RJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Carle is goals

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good message!

[Catalina A. Eguiguren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about identity and comparing yourself to others for young kids.

[Ronan Crutchfield]

Once I had more energy, I loved this book. I thought the pages were very surprising!