Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

 This is one of my daughter’s favorite books.  She was introduced to the book at school and brought it home and shared it with me.

Author: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault 
Illustrator: Louis Ehlert 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (1989)  
Prices: Board book - $4.99, eBook - $6.99, Hardcover - $14.99, CD – 10.99, Paperback - $7.99
Reading level: 1 to 4 years old
Interest level: Lower Grades
Physical Characteristics: 8.2 x 10.9, 40 pages
ISBN: 1442450703
Genres: Early Reader, Picture Book

Subjects:
Alphabet
Stories in Rhyme
Children’s Concept Book
Tree Climbing

Annotation:
Lower case letters get in to mischief climbing a coconut tree.  Can the Upper case letters save them?

Summary: 
Lower Case letters all climb up a coconut tree.  They race and play, until x y and z make it to the top.  With 26 little letters up there, the tree collapses and the letters fall down in a heap.  The upper case, moms and dads and uncles and aunts, have to come and take care of their smaller versions.

Evaluation:
My daughter’s teacher read this to the class in the first few weeks of Kindergarten.  The kids LOVED it.  They loved hearing it, singing along and the book has been carried through the year with the class.  When Ms. Green wants the kids to quiet down, she says Chicka Chicka and the class quiets down and says Boom Boom. I have to admit… I had not read the book with my daughter until recently.  I love it.  I love the bright and bold colors, the mischevious little letters and the fun rhymes.  It is a lovely whimsical book that is also super educational.

Similar Titles or Authors:
Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Samson
Lots of Spots by Louis Ehlert
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Websites:
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Lois-Ehlert/1877089

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom/Bill-Martin-Jr/Chicka-Chicka-Book-A/9781442450707

http://billmartinjr.com/bill_martin

http://www.johnarchambault.com/about.html

Awards & Recognition:
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
National Education Association: Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children
Children's Choices, 1990; International Reading Association
School Library Journal Top 100 Picture Books
Parents’ Choice Award: Best 25 Books in 25 Years
 
Professional Reviews:
School Library Journal

New York Times

Notes:
"A Little Pretty Pocket-Book"written by John Newbery in 1744  might have influenced Chcika Chicka Boom Boom

All images (c) Lois Ehlert