Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an American children's picture book written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert,[1] and published by Simon & Schuster in 1989. The book teaches the alphabet through rhyming couplets, and charted The New York Times Best Seller list for children's books in 2000.[2]
 Cover for the original book. | |
| Author | Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Lois Ehlert |
| Language | English |
| Series | Chicka Chicka Books |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | September 14, 1989 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 36 |
| ISBN | 1-55924-577-8 |
| OCLC | 19262991 |
| Followed by | Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 |
Plot
editAn anthropomorphic lowercase alphabet climb up a coconut tree in order, but their increasing weight makes the tree lean over, causing themselves to fall out of it. Shortly after, the uppercase letters (depicted as their parental figures) rush to aid the lowercase letters and rescue them from the pile.
While putting the tree back to its upright position and leaving the place, again in alphabetical order, many of the letters are revealed to have suffered from certain injuries, including "d" with a skinned knee, "e" with a stubbed toe, "f" wearing a bandage, "g" being out of breath, "h" and "i" tangled together, "j" and "k" crying in pain, "l" being knotted, "m" being looped, "n" being stooped, "o" being twisted, "p" having a black eye, and "t" having a loose tooth.
Later that night, the letter "a" gets up and climbs back up the coconut tree, proposing a double dare on the rest of the alphabet to catch him.
Sequels, spin-offs and related media
editAn abridged version of the book entitled Chicka Chicka ABC was published in 1990, which contains the first half of the original story up to the point where the alphabet falls out of the coconut tree.[3] A follow-up book teaching numbers, entitled Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3, was published on July 2, 2004, with Michael Sampson as author in addition to Martin Jr. and Ehlert.[4]
Several audiobook versions are available, one of which was narrated by Ray Charles. Additionally, a CD-ROM game based on the book was released in 1995 by Davidson and Simon & Schuster Interactive.
Weston Woods Studios made an animated musical short film adaptation of the book in 1999, with music composed and performed by Crystal Taliefero.[5]
A 2005 episode of the Nick Jr. series Blue's Room entitled "Alphabet Power" featured the letters from the book (in puppet form) visiting Blue and her friends. The book Chicka Chicka ABC is also read towards the end of the episode.
Chicka Chicka Ho Ho Ho, a Christmas-themed retelling of the story written by William Boniface and illustrated by Julien Cheng in which the letters are decorations on a Christmas tree, was published on October 1, 2024.[6] Two more books entitled Chicka Chicka I Love Mom and Chicka Chicka I Love Dad will be published on March 11, 2025.[7][8]
Album
edit| Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Other Coconutty Songs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Recorded | 1991–1992 |
| Genre | Children's music |
| Label | Youngheart Records |
| Producer | David Plummer & John Archambault |
In 1992, Archambault released an album composed of several songs based on the storybook entitled Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Other Coconutty Songs, along with musician David Plummer. It was named a 1992 "Notable Children's Recording American Library Association and in 1993, won a Parents' Choice Award.[9][10] Its main track was the title song Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which was the book's title.
Track list
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" | 2:25 |
| 2. | "ABC Song" | 0:54 |
| 3. | "Braggin' Dragon" | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Helicopter Man" | 2:23 |
| 5. | "Merry-Go-Round" | 2:36 |
| 6. | "Didgereedoo" | 3:08 |
| 7. | "Counting Sheep" | 2:25 |
| 8. | "B-A-Bay" | 1:51 |
| 9. | "5 Little Monkeys" | 0:19 |
| 10. | "Here Comes Another One" | 3:00 |
| 11. | "Saturday Night At The Fair" | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Jump Rope Rhymes" | 2:00 |
| 13. | "Chicka Chicka Funk" | 3:36 |
References
edit- ^ "JohnArchambault.com <Books Written with Bill Martin, Jr.>". Archived from the original on 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-02-22. John Archambault: Books
- ^ "Best Sellers : December 17, 2000". The New York Times. December 17, 2000. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Martin, Bill (1993). Chicka chicka a b c (First Little Simon board book ed.). New York, New York: Little Simon. ISBN 0-671-87893-X.
- ^ Martin, Bill (2004). Chicka chicka 1, 2, 3 (First ed.). New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-689-85881-7.
- ^ Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (2002), retrieved 2022-08-11
- ^ Chicka Chicka Ho Ho Ho. 2024-10-01. ISBN 978-1-6659-5476-1.
- ^ Chicka Chicka I Love Mom. 2025-03-11. ISBN 978-1-6659-6683-2.
- ^ Chicka Chicka I Love Dad. 2025-03-11. ISBN 978-1-6659-6685-6.
- ^ "For Halloween, learning about skeletons, and some tips on the art of the pumpkin". The Sun – Baltimore, Md. Oct 14, 1994. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ "Notable children's recording". Emergency Librarian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.