Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

Rating: 5 stars

What's with lonely and sad chameleons?  Why are these books finding their way into my library bag?

Luckily Pete the Cat balances out the blues.  More on him later...

Emily Gravett brings this (figuratively and literally) blue chameleon to life with few words and many soft, creative sketches.  Her chameleon is blue because he doesn't have any friends.  He tries to make friends with some funny characters--a snail, a sock, a banana.  Each time, the chameleon changes, as only chameleons with quirky artists behind them can, into that possible friend.  Let me show, rather than tell:

"Can I hang out with you?"

He's about to give up--turning all pale and page-like--until a voice calls out..."Hello?"  And then:

"Hello!"  "Hi!"

And together they are colorful.  The pictures are amazing and I'm sure the story extra meaningful for those kids who are still looking for a best friend.

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Rating: 4 stars

I am all for simplicity, but sometimes there are too few words in books for my personal taste.  This one definitely falls in that category, but it's too clever to dislike and it holds a special place in my heart because Lorelei read it all by herself.  Well, she can't read yet, but she's great at realizing which words are which once she has a general idea of what the words are.  Wait, is that what reading is?  I mean, I can officially read Thai but a) only at an embarrassingly slow pace, b) only words I know already, and c) a whopping sentence at a time.  So maybe Lorelei can read...well, we'll just keep an eye on that and let her keep reading/listening as much as she wants...

There are just four words in this book (well, a fifth appears at the end), but they are rearranged as many times as possible in cute little ways, and have illustrations that support the new arrangement.  The bear is cuddly and adorable and seems to dance around with the fruit on his head or rump or hand.  At the end he gobbles them all up and, funnily, what remains of the fruit are just cores and peels.

I don't know how many times you could read this--it might get old after a dozen times--but we appreciated it for the two weeks we had it from the library.  And because it was a great confidence booster for Lorelei, there's a good chance we'll check it out again.