Review Detail

CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO is a fun holiday twist on an old classic. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM takes all the letters up a coconut tree, and this new book takes them to decorate a Christmas tree. The plot remains largely similar, as they all go up but then fall out. In this case, they then notice the shapes of the packages around the Christmas tree before finding a way to add the decorations, such as the star on top.

What I loved: This is a cute, silly twist that works well for Christmas. The letters are all here and ready to get into decorating. There are learning opportunities, particularly for preschoolers, in seeing the letters but also the shapes that are around the tree. The text rhymes well and really rolls off the tongue. This is definitely a story that is made to be read aloud. Along these lines, each page reads very quickly, working well for short attention spans, such as toddlers and preschoolers.

The illustrations are great with vibrant colors. There are also foil images on some pages that add to the Christmasy feel of the design and give additional visual interest. It's a very pretty book! Near the end of the book, the whole decorated tree can be viewed with a turn of the book and adds to the fun. This is an overall cute twist on the classic.

Final verdict: CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO is a clever, rhyming picture book about the alphabet and shapes that will work well for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners.