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A Color of His Own

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In A Color of His Own, the narrator suffers from an identity crisis. He laments that all other animals have their own color, yet chameleons change color wherever they go. Heavily burdened by his color shifting, he seeks stability but only finds false hope. Fortunately, the narrator eventually meets another chameleon who conveys to him that there is strength in numbers. If they remain together, then even though their colors will change they will always be alike. Throughout the story, Lionni’s brightly colored watercolor narrator wears his heart on his sleeve; he telegraphs his feelings through the position of his eyes, the line of his mouth, and the curl of his tail—making him the very picture of character development from which students can compose thematic statements.

  • A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni; illus. by the author
  • Primary
  • Alfred A. Knopf
  • 40 pp.
  • Published 1975
  • ISBN 978-0375836978
  • $12.95
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