GOODNIGHT, CHAMELEON!

Chameleon plays one final game of hide-and-seek with his friends before bedtime.

In this lift-the–felt-flap board book, readers join in on the fun helping Chameleon uncover his fellow animal and bug friends before settling in for the night. Each page asks who’s hiding, and some also include a little sneak peek appearing from below the flap: a curl of a tongue, the tip of a wing, an arm. The flaps themselves are made from stiff pieces of felt, certainly sturdier than paper versions. They are printed with designs such as the veins of a leaf or details like bugs crawling up a tree. These thoughtful embellishments set the book apart from other felt-flap books. McFarland’s illustrations appear almost like collage, featuring chunky cut shapes and large-scale details. Chameleon changes color to match each hiding animal, a nice touch that some little readers might catch. The night-sky background changes as the book progresses, modulating from blues through purples to black. It’s a simple, subtle way to walk readers toward Chameleon’s bedtime, when he curls up on a branch to sleep at last. The text is less distinguished than the illustrations, and, disappointingly, the text on the final page is placed in a way that announces the end of the search before readers have uncovered the last animal.

A sweet book; adults will appreciate its durability, kids its familiarity.