A COLOR OF HIS OWN

You'd think the chameleon's ability to change his hue would afford a splendid chance for a dazzling Lionni display, and even his engaging little story—of one particular chameleon who longs for a color of his own—seems designed as a backdrop. But the flamboyant Lionni is not to be seen here, and the stylized simplicity that distinguished this artist at his earlier best verges here on rubber-stamp monotony. Too, his young audience will have a right to question the words "on lemons they are yellow" below a picture of the creature perched on a fruit that, from its color, looks more like a lime. Of course Lionni's hero does go through some nifty changes, including polka dots and tiger stripes, and it's nice to see him matched with another at the end: "We will still change color wherever we go, but you and I will always be alike." Alike yes—but nothing like Frederick, Swimmy, or Little Yellow.