Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a bestselling American children's book written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert,[1] and published by Simon & Schuster in 1989. The book features anthropomorphized letters. The book charted on The New York Times Best Seller list for children's books in 2000.[2]
 a-z letters on pages | |
| Author | Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Lois Ehlert |
| Cover artist | Lois Ehlert |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | the alphabet |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1989 |
| Pages | 36 |
| ISBN | 1-55924-577-8 |
| OCLC | 19262991 |
| Followed by | Chicka, Chicka, 1, 2, 3 |
Story
The lowercase letters climb up the coconut tree in alphabetical order, until their weight causes the tree to lean and all the letters fall out of the tree. Capital letters (the older relatives of the lowercase letters) come to rescue them. Again alphabetically, it describes each letter’s injuries: D having a skinned-knee, E having a stubbed toe, F being patched up, G being all "out of breath", H and I being "tangled up", J and K about to cry, L being knotted like a tie", M being "looped", N being "stooped", O being "twisted alley-oop", P having a black eye", and T having a loose tooth".
At night, the letter A gets out of bed and starts climbing the tree again, "dare-double-daring" the other letters to catch him.
An audio book version is also available, narrated by Ray Charles.
A CD-ROM game was released in 1995 by Davidson and Simon & Schuster Interactive.
It inspired a 2004 sequel, Chicka, Chicka, 1, 2, 3. A board book for toddlers, entitled Chicka, Chicka ABC was published in 1990, containing the first half of the full story, which ends up with all 26 letters falling out of the tree.
Weston Woods made an animated musical short film adaptation of the original book, with music composed and performed by Crystal Taliefero.
Album
| 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, along with musician David Plummer, Archambault released an album composed of several songs based on the storybook, entitled Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Other Coconutty Songs. The album was named a 1992 "Notable Children’s Recording" by the American Library Association and in 1993, won a Parents' Choice Award.[3][4]
Tracks
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" | |
| 2. | "ABC Song" | |
| 3. | "Braggin' Dragon" | |
| 4. | "Helicopter Man" | |
| 5. | "Merry-Go-Round" | |
| 6. | "Didgereedoo" | |
| 7. | "Counting Sheep" | |
| 8. | "B-A-Bay" | |
| 9. | "5 Little Monkeys" | |
| 10. | "Here Comes Another One" | |
| 11. | "Saturday Night At The Fair" | |
| 12. | "Jump Rope Rhymes" | |
| 13. | "Knick Knack Dappy Whack" |
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-02-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) John Archambault: Books
- "Best Sellers: December 17, 2000". The New York Times. December 17, 2000. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- "For Halloween, learning about skeletons, and some tips on the art of the pumpkin". The Sun - Baltimore, Md. Oct 14, 1994. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- "Notable children's recording". Emergency Librarian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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