Our Story
Where it all began..
Hello, I’m Aron Howe, the writer and illustrator behind The Chameleon Who Found His Colours.
Camillo was born from a very personal place. As a child, I often struggled to express my feelings and to feel like I truly belonged. When I began creating this story, I asked myself a simple question: what book did I need as a child?
The answer became Camillo — a gentle chameleon who forgets his colours while trying to fit in, only to discover that being himself is more than enough.
Every page was drawn and painted with care, but also with lived experience. Like Camillo, I’ve faced moments of doubt, of hiding, of trying to blend in when what I really needed was to feel safe being me.
This book is more than a story. It’s an invitation for children (and the adults who love them) to pause, reflect, and realise that our feelings and differences aren’t things to hide — they’re what make us shine.
Creating Camillo has been my way of offering children the book I wish I’d had: a companion for those quiet questions we all carry, and a reminder that the colours inside us are always worth sharing.
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Cool Earth is a UK Registered Charity – Charity No. 1117978.
So, what's next?
We never set out just to add another children’s story to the shelves.
There are already so many fantastic titles for children to enjoy. What we wanted was something different — something that could live on as more than a book, more than just another tale that fades with time.
That’s when it hit us. This story shouldn’t only take children into Camillo’s world, but into their own inner world as well.
So we shaped our first book to be three things at once. Of course, it’s a story to enjoy. But it’s also a gentle guide to recognising emotions, for children — or for anyone who might need a little help naming how they feel. And it’s interactive too: through sticker scenes, readers can build their own version of Camillo’s journey, nurturing creativity by seeing the jungle come alive under their hands.
Along the way, “check-in” boxes pause to ask: How do you think Camillo feels right now? These little moments open space for parents and carers to have conversations that might otherwise feel too hard to begin. They also spark creativity, letting children become storytellers themselves as they piece together scenes and feelings in their own way.
And of course, Camillo’s world won’t stop there. We’ll also be creating stand-alone picture books — stories that don’t need stickers, but still carry the same warmth, imagination, and heart. Each title will have its own way of helping children feel seen, supported, and inspired.
Finally, we want our stories to reach out of their pages, bringing positive change the real world too. That's why we're proud to stand tall with CoolEarth, a charity dedicated to rainforest conservation, working directly with their communities.