Cristina Kessler. Konte Chameleon, Fine, Fine, Fine!: A West African Folktale. Honesdale, Pa.: Boyds Mills Press, 1997. 32 pp. $15.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-56397-181-5.
Reviewed by Mei-Mei Sanford (SUNY Purchase)
Published on H-AfrTeach (November, 1998)
Konte Chameleon Fine, Fine, Fine is an animal fable about how a chameleon discovers his ability to change color and the powers that it gives him. It is both a story about acceptence of one's unique gifts, and a natural history lesson about chameleons. The writer and illustrator have keen eyes and ears for the natural world of chameleons, pythons, rabbits, and baobab trees. I've tried Konte Chameleon out with classes of children from pre-K to grade 4 and they have loved it. The onomatopoeic words are vivid and fun, the repeated refrains are an effective storytelling device that allow children to participate in the story, and even the youngest children to whom I read it understood the chameleon's changeability and its advantages. Some children rightly critiqued several pictures in which the chameleon did not match its surroundings--a just criticism and an indication that they understood the story. Although the book is subtitled "A West African Story," its connection to Africa may be lost on many children. If children do make the connection, they will find an image of a wise and compassionate African healer in the rabbit doctor who reassures Chameleon that he is not sick, and helps him find out for himself how he changes color.
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Citation:
Mei-Mei Sanford. Review of Kessler, Cristina, Konte Chameleon, Fine, Fine, Fine!: A West African Folktale.
H-AfrTeach, H-Net Reviews.
November, 1998.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2513
Copyright © 1998 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staff at hbooks@mail.h-net.org.
