Hide, Clyde!
By Russell Benfanti
ipicturebooks/Little, Brown - April 2002
ISBN: 1-59019-047-5 - Hardcover
Children / fiction
Ages 4-8

Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.Com
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Clyde is a chameleon who just can't seem to learn the basics of chameleon life; he can't change colors to blend into the jungle color scheme. He always gets the colors wrong, and shows up "like a sore thumb." Clyde's mother teaches colors all day long to her offspring to protect them from dangers in the jungle, but is in despair over Clyde's inability to learn these skills. On blue stones, he turns yellow, and green leaves make him turn bright red.

When he catches a bee on his tongue and gets carried to a human house with all kinds of wild color schemes, he must learn to match colors with whatever he is sitting on to avoid detection and danger. Mother's lessons in color take on new meaning for Clyde now.

The marvelous artwork shows imagination and energy and is visually appealing, with a color palate that has bright primary colors along with shades of purple and pink. The rhyming story is cute and catchy, though some of the phrases are a bit awkward to read.

Russell Benfanti's first picture book will be a well-loved addition to your child's library of favorites, to be read over and over again.

A bonus: Instructions on the back cover of the book tell you how to get a free e-book of "Hide, Clyde!" to read on your portable, desktop or handheld PC.

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