Calum the Chameleon   
Danni Rae  Evan Heasman

 

 

Calum the Chameleon                             
Danni Rae Ill. Evan Heasman 
Little Love/Mary Egan (2025)
Picture book, Paperback, 24 pages
ISBN 978 1 0670875 4 8 

Calum the Chameleon is much more than a handsome picture book. Following the style of its predecessors, Kara the Kākāpō (2022) and Harry the Hermit Crab (2023), this easy-to-handle book packs a lively introduction to eight of the world’s ecosystems into its 24 pages. Writing in cheerful verse, Danni Rae introduces each ecosystem, from rainforest to savannah:

‘Tundras are treeless, they’re cold and they’re dry…

… Most of the year, the land is covered in snow,

But summer brings wildflowers bursting up from below.’

 She uses a nomadic chameleon, cutely named Calum, [short for Calumma parsonii], as a friendly guide to each landscape and its wildlife. The text invites readers to search for individual creatures. Search is the operative word.

‘A chameleon’s natural colour helps them avoid being seen.

Can you find Calum, exploring the forest of green?’

Calum is not the only one using camouflage. In the rainforest, it is not easy at first to distinguish between the Emerald Tree Boa and its leafy surroundings. Fortunately, silhouettes of such locals as the boa, toucan, butterflies, tree frog and jaguar are also provided to make identification easier for young eyes.

This brings us to the pictures. Once again, Evan Heasman’s full-page colour illustrations are spellbinders: finely detailed, richly coloured and often amusing. In his Savannah illustrations, for example, he has secretly added a dozen giraffes.  Now that Te Papa has a specimen on display, it seems that every New Zealand book about ocean life must include a giant squid.  Calum has found one. Also to be found in these pages are examples of the isopod, caracal, nautilus, pika, japalura lizard, and the lilac-breasted roller. Not to mention the well-concealed Parson’s chameleon known as Calum.

At the end of the book, there are three fact pages which explain the importance of ecosystems, as well as spilling the beans on what chameleons really get up to. The design is by Anna Egan-Reid.

Calum the Chameleon is a user-friendly introduction to the rich variety of nature and a warm invitation to young readers to continue their research and extend their knowledge of the natural world. And play hide-and-seek with Calum.

 

Trevor Agnew 
2 Jan 2026   [Review 3185]