''Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3'' is the title of a children's picture book written by Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson, and illustrated by

Lois Ehlert Lois Jane Ehlert (November 9, 1934 – May 25, 2021) was an American author and illustrator of children's books, most having to do with nature. Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor for ''Color Zoo'' in 1990. Some of her other popular works included '' ...

in 2004. It was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. It is a sequel to 1989's ''

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom ''Chicka Chicka Boom Boom'' is an American children's picture book written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert, and published by Simon & Schuster in 1989. The book teaches the alphabet through rhyming couplets, ...

''.

Plot

Anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

numbers from 1 to 20 (including 5 wearing a

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

) consecutively, then 30 to 90 (including 70 with long hair) by tens, and finally 99, climb up an

apple tree An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central A ...

. While watching them climb, the number 0 tries to find a place available for him in the tree. However, 0 soon realizes there is no more room left for him, until a colony of

bumblebees A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

claim the tree and order the numbers to leave. As a result, all of the numbers in the tree (except 10 who is hidingbut including 99 who falls out before the rest of the numbers) fall out, counting backwards. While this happens, a few of the numbers are revealed to have suffered certain injuries from the fall. The number 0 finally finds his place in the tree and goes to the top, joining with 10 and forming the large number 100 to scare the bees away. Then all the other numbers return and climb back up the apple tree, cheering for 10 and 0’s bravery.

Development

The publisher,

, originally asked Bill Martin, Jr. to write a sequel to his book ''

''. But when he and co-author Michael Sampson turned the manuscript in, it was rejected. That manuscript was published by Henry Holt as the title ''Rock It, Sock It, Number Line.'' Five years later, Martin and Sampson wrote a second counting book, and it became ''Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3.''

Reception

The book quickly became a best-seller, and is used by teachers throughout the United States to teach

counting Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects; that is, determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for ever ...

and

place value Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** O ...

to young children.

Awards

The book has won numerous awards from a variety of publications, libraries, and parenting groups, including Best Book of 2004 by

Parenting Magazine ''Parenting'' was a magazine for families and it was published in United States between 1987 and 2013. Its final headquarters was in Winter Park, Florida. History and profile ''Parenting'' was launched in 1987 by Robin Wolaner in a joint ventur ...

Adaptations

At the same year when the book was published,

Weston Woods Studios Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is an American production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded ...

made an animated musical short film adaptation of the story. As with the original ''Chicka Chicka Boom Boom'' cartoon, its music was composed and performed by

Crystal Taliefero Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero, born 5 January 1963) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Michael Sampson personal websiteBill Martin, Jr. personal website
American picture books 2004 children's books Mathematics books Mathematics fiction books