Look Out Leon!

This story about a young chameleon is enjoyable and amusing and the simple pull-out devices work well. Children can pull the tabs to change colours and make eyes move. It also provides a context for the child and sharing adult to explore a number of interesting themes. An important one is about protecting yourself against danger: the crocodile, the hippopotamus and the snake, all looking deliciously predatory, are on the look-out for a young vulnerable creature to devour. Leon’s father shows him how to exploit his ability to change colour to disguise himself in different backgrounds and landscapes; and so the fascinating concept of camouflage is introduced. But the book is also about the challenge of finding out who you are in a sometimes dangerous and puzzling world. Like most good books introducing notions of danger to the very young, this one ends reassuringly: Leon and his father are ‘safe inside their cosy cave’ looking at the sky as it changes from sunset hues to the gold and inky blue of night time. The pictures are robust with a coherent line and attractive bold palette, and good use is made of print variation, so that narrative text and speech are distinguished. Jez Alborough resists the temptation to call his book ‘Leon the Chameleon’ and leaves it to the reading adult to decide if and when to name concepts like ‘predator’ and ‘camouflage’.