Crash! Boom!

by Robie H. Harris, Chris Chatterton (illustrator)

How do these blocks stack up? Gentle math concepts go down easy in this fun and accessible story for very young children by the esteemed Robie H. Harris.

Elephant has a bucket of blocks and wants to build something tall. Something as tall as Elephant. But will it stay up? CRASH! BOOM! Not this time. Build it again? One block. Two blocks? Four blocks? It's still not as tall as Elephant. More blocks! Now will it stay up? Now will it be as tall as Elephant? Build, balance, count -- question, estimate, measure -- predict, crash, and build again! Young children will happily follow along as Elephant goes through the ups and downs of creating something new and finally celebrates the joy and pride of success.

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Counting, Childrens, Storytime, Stem, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2018

About the author

Robie H. Harris has written many award-winning books for children of all ages, including the definitive Family Library about sexuality: IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, IT'S SO AMAZING!, and IT'S NOT THE STORK! She lives in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[LaDonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past several months, I have found a greater appreciation for the use of math related books. They prove to be a great way of reinforcing math lessons and bringing math to life. Books like this one by Robie H. Harris help bring math to life. Crash! Boom! A Math Tale provides a great story that many children know—that we as adults have bared witness to. 😃

(Not to share any spoilers, but there are some great opportunities to count in this book).

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of using manipulatives so that children can more readily gain a perception of geometric shapes has been around a long time. Not necessarily given the name of manipulative, but actively used none-the-less, the simple, and long used, ABC building square blocks taught colors, letters, cause and effect, and skills in building.

The books Crash! Boom! and Now What? carry this a bit further. Differentiation and similarities of square and rectangle, long and short, number of sides, etc. is addressed.

Crash! Boom! is not your ordinary children’s counting book. Youngsters will have fun with this story about a cute little elephant who has trouble stacking his blocks. Perfect for children learning to count, the pictures also teach early math skills like measurement and adding more.

The focus is on counting, comparison, and stability. As the little elephant plays with his building blocks, he counts to discover that additional blocks create a tower as tall as he is and then when it falls it is shorter than he is. And as he is progressing in his building knowledge, he sees that stability is achieved through the use of a variety of sized and shaped blocks.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine and that of my daughter who is an educator. They are freely given.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deceptively clever book. A young elephant is playing with his blocks. How many will it take to create a stack as high as him? Wait, the pile is unstable when they're placed edgewise and CRASH! BOOM! How about stacking them differently? How about using different kinds of blocks? There are a myriad of math applications here--counting, equivalent fractions, addition, subtraction, etc. And let's not forget the science concepts of balance and gravity. Yet, it's all aimed at preschoolers with the delight of building and then breaking down. The pencil and digital illustrations are bright and show real blocks with an illustrated elephant. Preschool and kindergarten teachers and parents will embrace this book.

[Kellyanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

I'm a little surprised that this book's rating is less than 3.5. I just used it in an interactive storytime for 2s & 3s and it was a hit. Pairing it with physical blocks really brings the text to life and kids will take cues from the visuals (and get a kick out of making their own tower "Crash! Boom!"). It's a great way to introduce spatial concepts -- tall, flat, big, small -- in addition to early counting and shapes. Highly recommend for one-on-one or small storytimes with wooden or cardboard blocks.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Simple text with simple illustrations. I feel this could be a good book for a storytime with younger kids. Theme being possibly about not giving up, or a counting theme, or building theme, lots of possibilities.
I would likely recommend this to others.

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simple book that shows an elephant child building a tower. As he builds, he learns that stacking the blocks in different ways can result in towers that are stronger. I like the concept but feel that it was too simple for most kids that are interested in building.

[Donna Dobihal Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the author's intention is: to teach kids how to successfully build with blocks, to count? The use of photographs and illustrations together works nicely, and the cheerful, blue elephant is delightful but I suspect kids will have trouble transferring the information to the block corner.

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Crash! Boom!: A Math Tale, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Chris Chatterton, a sweet story of a young elephant learning to build a block tower.

A little elephant plays with a set of blocks, stacking them to form a tower. He hopes to make the tower as tall as he is, and after some careful balancing of four blocks on their ends, he does – until the unstable tower collapses with a “Crash! Boom!”. The little elephant cries a few tears, but then starts again, finding that the blocks are more stable on their wider side, but it will take twice as many to achieve the same height. Once again, the elephant builds the tower to his liking, this time enjoying an intentional “crash! boom!” when he’s done. But what other combinations of blocks can make the same height? Time to experiment and see!

Adorable. Even without the math elements, the precious elephant and his exuberant block-building are a charming story about trying again when your initial attempt fails. The elephant’s expressive face and body, interacting with real-life photos of wooden blocks and containers, was absolutely darling and won JJ over from the first page. The added bonus is the subtle inclusion of basic math principles like counting and geometry, kept simple enough that beginners can follow along and build a foundation for future math concepts. The length was great, and JJ loved it. A delightful little story that encourages experimentation, perseverance, and play, and we loved it. Baby Bookworm approved!

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Susannah Stein]

Crash! Boom!, by Robie H. Harris, told the story of a young elephant trying to figure out how to build a tower of blocks. The author incorporates the mathematical skill of addition as the elephant builds the tower taller. The illustrations were done by Chris Chatterton, and the elephant was drawn like a cartoon while the rest of the elements were very life-like.

I really liked this book. It would be great for young students, probably kindergarten through first grade. It allows them to interact on each page of the book because they can count or make predications as to whether they think the tower will stay up. The illustrations were also really cute. I also liked that there were just enough words on each page.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom. I think that it provides a great foundation for mathematics. I also love it when you can incorporate books into different subjects. I think that this book could be made really interactive. I would read it before a lesson for addition, and I would also have my students hypothesize and use problem solving skills to predict if the tower would stay up or fall down. For first grade, I would also ask them how they would build the tower to make it more sturdy.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a little elephant that is trying to build a tower that is taller than him. Once it is built he falls over and now he is stuck trying to find the best way to get it to stay up. The elephant does things such as counting by twos, changing his method of stacking, as well as adding and subtracting the blocks. This book focuses on the idea of multiple representations in math. The idea of this concept is that there are many different ways you work out a problem. There is no one way that fits all, therefore there may be times where you need to change your ways of thinking to complete a problem.

This book also shows us about problem solving and not giving up. The elephant made a mistake by stacking them one way, he learned from it and then tried a different way. The elephant continues to challenge himself in ways to build the tower, such as adding more blocks and making it taller. These are shown as ways to challenge himself the same we should challenge ourselves and those around us.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Since this book was labeled as "A Math Tale", I was expecting a little more. There really isn't much math involved. Yes, the elephant counts up to 8 and shows that the tower is the same height as he is, but that's about it. The narration didn't even focus on the subtraction of blocks when the tower fell. There are things parents can point out to their kids, but I think that is true with almost every book.

The illustrations were interesting. They feature real-life block pictures with a little cartoon elephant added in. They were cute, although the contrast kind of threw me at first.

Okay read. Maybe I would have liked it more if "Math" had not been such a salient feature in its advertising. It did not accurately describe the story in the book.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do these blocks stack up? Gentle math concepts go down easy in this fun and accessible story for very young children by the esteemed Robie H. Harris.

Elephant has a bucket of blocks and wants to build something tall. Something as tall as Elephant. But will it stay up? CRASH! BOOM! Not this time. Build it again? One block. Two blocks? Four blocks? It's still not as tall as Elephant. More blocks! Now will it stay up? Now will it be as tall as Elephant? Build, balance, count -- question, estimate, measure -- predict, crash, and build again! Young children will happily follow along as Elephant goes through the ups and downs of creating something new and finally celebrates the joy and pride of success.

[Melanie Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash! Boom! tells the story of an elephant who is trying to build a tower out of blocks to be as tall as him. He counts out the blocks and stacks them on top of each other. The tower crashes, and he has to try again. He goes about a different way of building the tower. I really liked the illustrations in this book. I thought they were cute and clever.
I would use this in my classroom for many reasons. The first reason is the mathematical elements. As the elephant is building the tower, he is counting. I would have my students count with him. Also, this book has elements of spatial awareness in it which I think are important for kids to understand. I think this book would be useful in the classroom for younger students.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Robie H. Harris authors "A Math Tale" you just know it's going to add up.

Add up to something wonderful.

Counting wooden blocks. Surviving the occasional crash and boom. Absolutely brilliant!

NO MERE COUNTING HERE.

Stacking those wooden blocks becomes a full-body experience:

* Tall
* Short
* Wobbly

When children (or little blue elephants, mostly naked) learn to count blocks for the purpose of building, numbers leap off the page and straight into real-life experience.

Just what I'd expect from the inveterate educator, turned picture book author, Robie H. Harris.

Superb illustrations -- very animated, actually -- by Chris Chatterton.

Bring on new generations of STEM experts. Inspired, in part by "Crash! Boom!"

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little blue elephant stacks up blocks, counts them, knocks them down, and envisions structural block tower improvements. I'm interested to see how this book would function in a storytime. Much of what's happening plotwise is dependent on the pictures, so a fair amount of talking about the book, as opposed to straight reading, would be necessary. I think it could be interesting as a feltboard, encouraging kids to participate in counting out the blocks as they're placed and potentially talking about the shapes of the different blocks as well. The story isn't quite there with this book, but I do think it could be useful as a teaching tool.

Themes: Counting, Shapes, Building

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much potential! A story about a little elephant building with blocks, seeking to make a tower as tall as they are, so they can knock it down? What child wouldn't love that? It is just the ending that feels unfinished. The tower is built, knocked down, built again, and knocked down, then built again, and the elephant falls asleep?? Really?
I do really like the illustrations. The basic background sets off the blue elephant, and the blocks look like photos. A child could look at just the photos and tell the story themselves, which is cool.

[Sienna Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for PreK where kids like to stack things. This was read by a teacher in our class and the kids started counting their blocks as they stacked them afterwards. This book provides great visuals for young students to understand the concept behind numbers. It also puts numbers into perspective of height, which is a great introduction to tall v small, bigger v smaller, etc. It is also a pretty short story which helps keep young kids' attention for a short minute then can lead into a stacking activity.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash! Boom!... a wonderful short story for young readers first starting on their counting journey. The adorable blue elephant attempts to stack jenga-like wooden blocks to add a couple at a time to equal his or her height. The cheerful elephant struggles, attempts different methods, and triumphs while counting, learning geometry, organization, and fun! Fun words and a happy ending that reminds children to pick themselves up if they fall and try, try again.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A math book for toddlers? Yes, please! The adorable elephant character counts his blocks as he stacks them up! Every toddler can relate when he works so hard to stack and then accidentally knocks them over...but next time he has fun knocking them down! Up and down is half the fun! He experiments with stacking them different ways too which shows toddlers about trying different things...great all around, while simple enough for the littlest readers.

[Viviane Elbee]

This book has an elephant who wants to build a block tower as tall as himself. There is some math involved, in the form of geometry (shapes) and measurements (is the tower as tall as the elephant) and some counting. At the end it also shows how 8 tiny blocks stacked are the same height as 4 small blocks, and the same height as two medium sized blocks, which is the sand height as one large block. Interesting for math concept conversations.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book that introduces math in gentle, subtle ways?! NICE!

A picture book that embodies STEM in gentle, subtle ways?! NICE!

Everyone can relate to trying to build a tall tower. And what happens when it falls down. "Crash! Boom!" is a great one to get young ones thinking about these concepts.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Ashland Public Library.

He’s too young to understand the counting and fractions involved, but he loved looking at the elephant and blocked towers. So much so, that he almost ripped the pages of the book he’s still a bit wild for big boy paper books like this one, but we are trying to introduce more of them.

[Denise Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little book for preschoolers. As did my 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old grandsons. It’s fun and educational at the same time. The illistrations are charming and I would certainly recommend it highly!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations MAKE this book! I love the photographed blocks!!! It's a super-simple story, but it does teach basic counting, comparison words, and that sometimes you have to keep trying if you want to reach a goal. Highly recommended.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Math concepts are as elusive as the storyline in this odd tale about an Elephant obsessed with its own height. The lovely photographs of the beautiful wooden blocks steal the show; perhaps the blocks could have told their own story without the elephantine protagonist?

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute story about an elephant building a tower (but also secretly about math!). It's so charming - you can practically see the wheels turning in Elephant's head as they try to figure out how to get it juuuust right.

[Katie Taisey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash! Boom! is a cute book. I like how the elephant looks at new ways to stack it each time the tower falls. It is focusing on changing the way you stack in order to make the tower more stable. The book also includes some counting which is great for young students learning to count.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for little ones. A little elephant stacks blocks on end, then counts them. When the tower proves unstable, they stack the blocks along the flat side instead. No real story, but imitatible if you have the right blocks.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

[Annie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!