Boom Chicka Rock

Rating:
Summary: My 2 yr old son is nuts for this book!
Review: My son received this book for a gift on his second birthday in May. I liked the artwork and thought it was a little mature for him at first glance due to the more complex text. I was wrong. After reading this book to him once, he began requesting it more than once a day. Now I can stop in many places and he recites parts. He loves the pictures and talks about the different colors of mice outfits and shoes. The text is very rhythmic and energetic. As I mentioned the collage artwork is very neat to look at and it is a nice way to expose kids to another kind of art media. I highly recommend this book!

Rating:
Summary: Not as bouncy as "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"
Review: Read these lines: "'Fiddlesticks," said Number SIX. `We'll throw him by the tail into the pancake mix.'" If, like me, you're bothered by the slightly forced rhythm, this book might be a disappointment. If you're saying to yourself, "What's her problem? Sounds fine to me," then this is a great book.

On the plus side, I lliked the look of the torn-paper illustrations showing the numbered mice wreaking havoc in the kitchen while the cat sleeps. And the catchiness of the refrain really does live up to the promise of the title. ("Everybody rock! Around the room! Boom Chicka Rock, Chicka Rock, Chicka Boom!")

But there's an awful lot of unwieldy verse in between the refrains, especially since the emphasis on the numbers seems to indicate that the target audience is pretty young.

Rating:
Summary: Dancing Mice at Midnight
Review: This new children's book was an instant hit with my three-year-old nephew. A big black cat lies fast asleep as the numbers on the clock turn into little mice, out to find the birthday cake. One by one the numbers climb down and scurry around the sleeping cat. My nephew would look for the cat on every page, sometimes in plain view, sometimes only a hint of tail showing. Midnight strikes, the cat awakes, the mice scurry back to their places. The illustrations are artful and humorous, and I always like rhymes for young children. Good for teaching numbers too.

Rating:
Summary: It Rocks
Review: With the beginning title phrase, Boom Chicka Rock, Archambault repeats the line throughout the story giving the text a wonderful rhythm. The mice who tell the story come alive with the poetic verse and the unusual vocabulary which is a fresh look at some words. The mice are after food of course and the proverbial cat is asleep so the "mice must play". The mice sneak out to find the chocolate cake and each mouse has a number from the clock for their name. Appropriately, there are twelve mice who eventually form the hands on the clock. As the mice sneak around and explore the room, they speak in rhyme; and you can almost hear them singing the verse. They rhythm is great and one could almost hear the mice running around getting into mischief and avoiding the sleeping cat. Adding to the sound devices, Chitwood has effectively used torn paper collage for the artwork. With vivid primary colors and mice portrayed like a track team, the text and art nicely complement each other. The torn paper collage shapes give the mice vibrant characteristics highlighted by the bright primary colors and the numbers on each mouse. The numbers reinforce learning numbers and learning where the numbers are situated on a clock. Overall, this lively story demonstrates a unique way of using the concept of numbers and blends the text with bright appealing pictures. It rocks!