About This Book
Reach for this book when you want to transform a basic math lesson into a high energy, rhythmic play session. This vibrant sequel to the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom replaces letters with numbers, following a boisterous cast of digits from 1 to 100 as they race up an apple tree. It addresses the natural curiosity children have about the 'big numbers' that lie beyond the initial ten, framing the sequence as an exciting mountain to climb. The book is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who are just starting to recognize symbols or for older children working on counting by tens. It uses a catchy, repetitive rhyme that encourages participation, making the daunting task of learning one hundred feel like a celebratory game. Parents will appreciate how it introduces the concept of zero as a helpful hero, adding a layer of mathematical logic to the fun.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
None.
Ideal Reader
A preschooler who is beginning to notice numbers in the world around them and enjoys physical, rhythmic storytelling. It is also excellent for a child who feels intimidated by 'big' numbers, expresses frustration with the sequence between twenty and one hundred, or needs a playful entry point into place value.
Parent Prep
This book is best read 'cold' but with high energy. Be prepared to read it with a beat or a chant-like cadence.
Age Experience
Two and three-year-olds will focus on the bright colors and the repetitive 'chicka chicka' refrain. Five and six-year-olds will begin to recognize the patterns of tens (20, 30, 40) and understand the visual joke of the numbers falling.
What Makes It Special
Unlike most counting books that stop at ten or twenty, this title effectively visualizes the scale of 100 while maintaining a poetic meter that makes the information sticky for young brains.
Read plot summary
Numbers from 1 to 100 engage in a rhythmic competition to see who can climb to the top of an apple tree. As the tree fills up, the numbers eventually fall out in a chaotic pile. The story concludes with the number 0 finding its important place at the top of the tree to create the number 100, restoring order to the counting sequence.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Why did the numbers want to climb to the top of the tree? Do you think it was crowded up there?
2
When the numbers all fell out, who came to help them get back together?
3
Look at the number zero. Why was it so important for making the number one hundred?
4
Which number is your favorite color in the pictures, and can you find it on the page with all the numbers at the end?
