Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka #1

by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, Lois Ehlert (Illustrator)

The 26 characters in this rhythmic, rhyming baby book are a lowercase alphabet with attitude. "A told b, and b told c, 'I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree'"--which probably seemed like a good idea until the other 23 members of the gang decided to follow suit. The palm tree standing straight and tall on the first page begins to groan and bend under its alphabetical burden. First the coconuts fall off, then ("Chicka chicka... BOOM! BOOM!") all the letters also end up in a big heap underneath.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Poetry, Classics, Storytime, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See ; Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ; Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing, developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/billma...

Reviews

[Whitney Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite children's books ever! It is a classic every single child needs to have on their bookshelf. My grandma read this book to me when I was little, and it brought me such joy! I have a lot of good memories surrounding this book. I've read it to both my daughters so many times that I don't even have to look at the words anymore to read it. We are on on our 2nd copy of the book because my oldest daughter wore the first copy out. Chicka chicka boom boom is such a fun, cute story and a great way to learn ABCs!

[Jason Koivu · Rating 5 out of 5]

* * * Sung & reviewed by my niece and I * * *

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an alphabet learning book and waaay below my 6-year-old niece's reading level, but we enjoyed the heck out of it anyway!

Letters A through Z climb up a coconut tree. Eventually they fall with a boom, only to begin all over again.

The rhyme scheme in this book makes it excellent for singing. Plus, the words "chicka chicka boom boom" punctuate some of the pages, making for a great chorus. So, I sang the book and my niece provided an energetic series of CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOMS!!! every now and then...occasionally when they weren't even on the page. She just went with it, improvising to her heart's content.

"That was awesome! Can we do it again?!"
"Yes, yes we can."

[Andre Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and fun read with the kids!

[Stephanie]

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a story about the alphabet letters climbing a coconut tree. The lower-case letters climb up the tree, but the tree bends and the letters fall out. Then capital letters (the older relatives) help the lower-case letters back up into the tree. Each of the lower-case letters gets hurt during the fall from the tree and the book describes each letter’s injury. Then, at night, letter “A” dares the other letters to catch him while he climbs the coconut tree.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an alphabet picture book because the story is told through the use of bright pictures and text. The color of the letters in the text also correlates with the letters in the pictures. Furthermore, the book jumps right into the story without unnecessary dialogue. This book is great to use when teaching the alphabet because of its use of repetition and rhyming. The use of these literary devices and bright and fun illustrations makes this book a great text to use for teaching the alphabet to kindergartners, first graders, and second graders.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of letters climb up a coconut tree and fall back down, getting injured in the process. Will they learn their lesson or keep climbing up the coconut tree?

I don't know who bought this for my son or when they did but he ignored it for a very long time until I found it under the couch a few days ago. Since then, I've read it at least five times a day.

The art is cute but very simplistic and the rhythm is good for reading out loud. I'd say it's an average kid's book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one. I read it to Gabe for the first time today and I can tell he's going to love it too. He was enthralled by the rhythm.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I see this on many children's lists, and it was in the "Kindergarten box" I borrowed from the library (A whole box you can check out that are picked out a head of time based on a theme, letters, numbers, shapes, etc.), but my kids found it "okay". I'm wondering if maybe it just didn't hold their attention long enough for them to understand the story. It' is a cute concept with nice illustrations, just not one of our favorites.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Vibrant, helpful, fun to read. This really holds up. I Love You Forever could never.

[Karl Fredrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an incredibly deep commentary on human instincts, written superbly by the great Bill Martin Jr. At the beginning of the story, we meet our protagonist, "A", who's goal is to beat all the other letters to the top of the coconut tree. What I enjoy the most about Bill Martin Jr's novel is how it doesn't waste any time. As soon as A is introduced, we're immediately shown his motivations and his end goal, without any dillydallying. He is a simple character with a simple mission, and because of this, a backstory or other form of overly long character background check isn't necessary. Martin Jr is well aware of this, and introduces A accordingly. We meet other characters as the story goes along, such as B and C for example. They all have great personalities, but fall somewhat short to the incredible character achievement that is A. However, a lot of them have distinct character traits that make them interesting, such as Loose-Tooth T.

The book's main conflict occurs when all the lowercase letters of the alphabet, (who are geniusly portrayed as children) try to be the first to make it to the top of the iconic tree, but end up falling and injuring themselves, having to be helped by their parents. This is the message that a lot of reviewers are failing to see. The letters are just like us. As a species, humans are captivated with the idea of pushing farther and farther, but never stop to think if we should, whether it will harm us in the long run or not. We are lowercase letters, obsessed with climbing further and further up the coconut tree. And eventually, it will be too late. We'll fall. But unlike the lowercases, we won't have uppercase letters to come save us. It's up to us and us alone to decide whether or not we choose to climb the coconut tree.

Despite all this, at the end of the book we're shown A sitting firmly at the top of the tree after all the other letters had gone home. This gave me a lot of mixed feelings. Yes, it was a fitting end to A's character arc, as he completed his goal and went through the hero's journey. However, it also gave me a bit of sadness. It's slightly depressing that A is so obsessed with getting to the top of the tree, that he does so in the middle of the night, with no on around to see him. Some might say this is just dedication, and shows A's determination, (one of his defining character traits) but I find it somewhat disheartening. This is another genius hint at the book's deeper meaning by Bill Martin Jr.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a book about society. About human beings. About life. It saddens me that some might even think to give Bill Martin Jr's bestseller one star, because it means that they clearly didn't see the books deeper meaning. Or perhaps, they're too scared to look for it.

[Matthias Everhope · Rating 1 out of 5]

An exercise in futility. The letters go up, they fall back down, too ill informed to understand that the tree cannot support them all. Why? This book is existential purgatory and not a fun or meaningful way to learn the alphabet!

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband choose this as a Christmas gift for Tot. He remembers it being read to him in kindergarten. Tot loves it. I think it will definitely help her learn to read as well.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this often. It makes Emily smile. :)

[Jenny Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Moly! This book blew my socks off. I won’t spoil it, but I encourage everyone to read until the end.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one that I remembered reading as a kid but before I re read it I couldn't remember what it was about. It was a fun tongue twisting rhyming book that I'm sure any kid would enjoy reading/listening to. The colorful pages and big print make it easy and entertaining to read as well.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read classic children’s books from picture books to young adult stories that I either never read as a child or were published later. In this 20th anniversary edition, children can read aloud or sing along learning the alphabet. The alphabet comes alive in bright colorful moving letters with fun lively rhymes. What a delight for any child learning to read!

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I’ve ever read in my whole life-

[dea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In tears writing this. This book changed my life for the better and I could never express my gratitude. In the wise words from someone important to me, chicka chicka, boom boom. <3

[James Misfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a classic for a reason. Just when you think the story's over... Just wait for the last page no spoilers here.

[Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to hit my reading goal and was with my niece do not ask questions. Thank you to Laura for the idea

[Claire Raver]

Just read this to my nanny kids and you better believe I’m counting it

[Gail Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're not going to believe this alphabet book - it's bold, bright and beautiful! Brilliant colors fill each polka-dot bordered page as the alphabet begins its adventurous journey to the top of a coconut tree. The rhymes are irresistible and fun to read again and again.

CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM 2010 is the first oversized board book edition, and in this case bigger is definitely better – more eye-popping than ever. Originally published in 1989 this alphabet book has appealed to generations of youngsters and shows no signs of slowing down. Now, the latest edition gives an entirely new generation of children the opportunity to learn as they play beginning with "A told B, and B told C, `I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.''

What a festive way to learn ABC's all the way through to “Last to come X Y Z. And the sun goes down on the coconut tree...”

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

[Ghoover]

This was such a fun little book to read this week. I absolutely adore this story and the illustrations that go along with it. My mom used to read this book to me as a little girl and we even had "Hoover family dance moves" that correlated with the "chicka chicka" portions. Overall this story is an exciting and fun free read for children. Definitely geared towards a younger audience, but I think it should be read by or too children as they grow up.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining alphabet book with lots of word play. Effective use of text refrains and the whole alphabet is repeated for reinforcement. Bold, blocky illustrations use lots of vibrant swaths of tropical color.

[Katelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kinda boring, but I am 10.

[Mallory Dreiling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as a kid. It teachings basic counting principles and now has a song to go with it. A good way to teach kids basic counting skills.

[Erica Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this. I even turned it into a rap song. I'm going to go ahead and guess that the author intended it to be that way.

[Liam Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this to my friends daughter Norita. She liked it but I thought it was a little confusing. The letters were a little much for me.

[Erin McQuitty]

I’m counting Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for my reading total for 2025 because if I didn’t I would have read 67 books this year and I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN even though “67” feels so emblematic of the year 2025… but I’ve also read this 10,000 times this year to my kid and my brain will not let me finish any books right now so dammit, I’m going to count it!!

Oh yeah, this book is weird with nice colors and my kid can recognize her ABCs now so that’s nice.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one's great!

[Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the song dad sang! :)