Animals That Change Color

National Geographic Readers: Level 2

by Libby Romero

What do chameleons, octopuses, and arctic foxes all have in common? They change color! Meet amazing animals that alter their appearances in this Level 2 reader.

Packed with beautiful and engaging photos, this new leveled reader dives into the amazing world of animals that change their appearance based on environment, the need to blend in to hunt or stay safe, and even their mood! Kids will learn all about the how and why of these amazing animal transformations.

National Geographic Readers' combination of expert-vetted text, brilliant images, and a fun approach to reading have proved to be a winning formula with kids, parents, and educators. Level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for kids ready to read on their own, perfect to encourage the scientists and explorers of tomorrow!

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

Published January 7, 2020

About the author

Libby Romero worked as a teacher and a journalist before dedicating herself to becoming an author.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at various animals who change color, how they change, and why they change.

This covers animals who change for camouflage reasons as the seasons change, animals who change colors as they grow, animals who change colors to attract a mate, animals who change colors to fool predators, animals who change colors based on what they eat, and animals who change color based on their moods. It goes into just a smidgeon of the science behind how chameleons and cephalopods change colors with their special cells but it is very approachable. I like the variety of color changes they included this beyond just camouflage. A great pick for a curious reader who is gaining a bit more confidence in their reading skills and loves photographs of animals.

[Julia Adams]

This is a level two book great for ages 5 to 8. The Lexile level is 610L.

[Aarvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vocabulary:
instant, dramatic, gradual, moods, absorb, camouflage, environment, swan, Dalmatian, territory, breast, mimic (imitate), deadly, species, algae, survival

I got all the quiz whiz right!

[Lagobond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice intro to why and how some animals change color. Good descriptions and photos. I'm by no means young enough to be part of this book's target audience, but even so, I learned about several fascinating animals I hadn't seen before, and I even learned a few things about animals I thought I was quite familiar with!

I do have one minor complaint. The blue morpho's description is incorrect: its "disappearing" has nothing to do with it blending into the sky, because these butterflies live on the rainforest floor, where there is no open sky. Also, in order to enable camouflage against a blue sky, the wings would need to have a blue underside, rather than blue tops. An editor should have caught this.

I don't know enough about some of the other animals featured to know if the rest of the descriptions are accurate, but this very obvious error makes me wonder. I debated giving 4 stars instead of 5, but in the end I went with 5 stars, because this book has had me googling videos of all these cool critters for the past hour, so I'd say it did its job educating and entertaining this happy reader!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explores the reasons and ways that different animals change colors. Fantastic and colorful photographs. Quiz in the back.