Review - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Chicka Chicka #1)
by Bill Martin, Jr. & John Archambault
illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Date: 1989
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

A told B, and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.

In this lively alphabet rhyme, all the letters of the alphabet race each other up the cocunut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no - Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom! The well-known authors of Barn Dance and Knots on a Counting Rope have created a rhythmic alphabet chant that rolls along on waves of fun. Lois Ehlert's rainbow of bright, bold, cheerful colors makes the merry parade of letters unforgettable.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a great example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

I wasn't even sure what I was in for when I picked this one up. The cover doesn't do the book any justice. It's an alphabet book in rhyme, and what a rhyme it is! To really appreciate it, you should read it aloud. I did (thank goodness there was nobody around!) and got totally sucked in. It's almost like you're performing a chant, or one of those clapping games from childhood (well, my childhood; I may be dating myself here). The basic premise is that all the lowercase letters climb to the top of the coconut tree... which can't hold them all. After they all fall down, everyone's upset and the capital letters come running to help. It's a different sort of concept for an alphabet book.

The pictures are simple--perhaps a little too simple--but then again, so is the story. It's the rhyme that's the real star here. This would be fun to read to kids... and I imagine that, after a few read-throughs, the kids would be joining in!

Quotable moment:

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.57 out of 5