The Mixed Up Chameleon

Carle, E. (1984). The mixed up chameleon. New York:  Crowell.

The chameleon in the story The Mixed Up Chameleon experiences many changes! He blends in (camouflages) with his background.  Blending in with his background allows the chameleon to hide from predators and prey. At the beginning of the story it shows how he turns red when on a red flower.  The chameleon turned green when on a leaf and turned yellow in order to blend in with the sand. The chameleon felt as though he didn't have an interesting life and wished he was interesting like the animals in the zoo.  The Chameleon begins to get really "mixed up!" He wishes to have certain abilities and body features like some of the zoo animals.  His wishes begin to come true! He grows fish fins, deer antlers, a turtle shell, and a long giraffe shell! There are so many different traits on the chameleon that he no longer looks like himself.  Will he miss being who he is meant to be? The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle is a wonderful book for ages K-2 because of the simplicity of the words. The illustrations by Eric Carle are very beautiful and are made with watercolor paints and scraps of paper that are collaged together. It is very interesting how he uses many shades of one color.  For instance at the beginning of the book the chameleon is many different shades of green.  He used different scraps of green paper and collages it with glue. His pictures are always very interesting and very unique. This is a wonderful book to use for science in order to teach students how animals "camouflage" and blend in with their background for protection. As a child I remember this book also taught me to "love yourself and to be happy with who you are."  Children should understand that they are each unique and are very special. The world would not be an interesting place if all people animals looked and acted the same. Many times people try to be something that they are not and then they tend to feel sadness because they have lost their identity.  This book is very important to show children so that they can grow up with confidence and self assurance in who they are. A question I had while reading was..."Did the chameleon realize at the end that he was very unique and just as special as the other animals at the zoo?" (I think he did realize just how special he is.)  A BIG question I would ask my students is...."Why is it important to be yourself?"