Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault were really onto something when they created the loveable picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. A story about baby (lowercase) letters daring to climb up the coconut tree, it’s very easy to read aloud, with plenty of rhyming, funny word combinations, and vivid imagery.

Just saying, “Chicka chicka boom boom!” makes my four-year-old grin; it’s definitely one of her favorite tales. And with phrases like “tag-along k,” and “Skit skat skoodle doot. Flip flop flee,” you can’t help but laugh as you read it out loud. (And yes, be prepared for a bit of stuttering your first way through!)

The letters, in their haste to beat one another to the top of the coconut tree (as children are wont to do), all fall down, injured (though not seriously) and crying in piles, and their parents and uncles and aunts—the capital letters, naturally!—all dash to pick off their babes, dust off their pants, and soothe their wounds in a quite cute fashion.

Soothed by their parents and caregivers, the little letters seemingly have had it for the day as the sun starts to set—but, of course, little a gets out of bed and, beneath the glow of the full moon, dares the rest, “Dare double dare, you can’t catch me, I’ll beat you to the top of the coconut tree,” which, of course, is sure to start the whole ordeal over again!

Of course, much of the book’s appeal stems from Lois Ehlert’s illustrations. The choppy, childlike imagery, complete with the coconut tree, polka dots, and tumbling letters and coconuts is all pretty cute—but the best illustrations are those of the “injured” alphabet letters, including a crying j and k (with little blue tears dropping from their “faces”), an h and i tangled up with each other, and a p with a “black eye,” it’s circle filled in with black paint. This personification further embellishes the story beloved by so many kids.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a must-have for all kiddos. Not only is it fun and lyrical to read aloud, it also helps provide an early introduction to letters. You can add to the early literacy components of the book by providing a set of alphabet letters—such as magnets—to match to the letters in the book or doing other alphabet games. Other versions of the book, such as a numerical version, area also available.