Sonderbooks Book Review of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Reviewed April 21, 2003.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 1989. 32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E MAR).
A Sonderbooks’ Stand-out of 2003: #1, Old Favorite Picture Books

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has been a family favorite at our house for approximately the 14 years it has been in print. Here’s a jazzy alphabet book like no other.

Instead of the same old words beginning with letters, in this book the letters are the characters. “A told B, and B told C, ‘I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree,’” The small letters climb the coconut tree, fall down, and then are helped up by their parents, the capital letters.

Okay, told like that, the book sounds silly. Told by the authors of this book, the story is a delight. Small children love recognizing the letters and will quickly learn the words to read along with you. I guarantee that parents won’t get tired of reading this book, even on the hundredth time. (Well, your voice might get tired!)

When my son was in preschool, we discovered a tape version with Ray Charles reading the book, giving it the jazz beat it was written for. I’ve made the Amazon link on my webpage link to a book and cassette set that includes that wonderful tape, with a little additional alphabet fun.

Sembach Library finally got a copy of this book, and it has already been a hit at one story time. This is the perfect book for 3- to 5-year-olds and their lucky parents.

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

******Chicka Chicka Boom Boom*

by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

illustrated by Lois Ehlert