VVIP+++ Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel

Square Fish; Reprint edition (April 17, 2007)

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel is Great book. This is fun to read and has a nice lesson. As a reading specialist and English teacher, I wish the critics and book banners would go away. So what if it is not completely authentic. It's a fiction book not a history or cultural lesson. It makes me wonder what these people read to children because if everything has to be totally accurate, animals don't talk, and then there is Santa, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny...get it?

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel is In a nutshell: Tikki Tikki Tembo as retold by Arlene Mosel is a fabled Chinese fable about two little brothers. The oldest one is purportedly given a long impressive name meaning “The Most Wonderful Thing in the Whole Wide World” as he is to inherit his parents’ beloved possessions. His younger brother is considered some sort of back-up and is given a short name (Chang) which means “Little or Nothing” or Clueless Playmate or something. Wiki-the-source-of-all-truth-pedia, states that the book is controversial because it may be a Japanese story told about China and does not portray Chinese culture accurately. I plan to seek guidance from my Chinese family members on where this story lands on the offensiveness scale.So,the boys are monkeying around and Clueless Playmate falls into the well. Golden Boy runs to his mother and they get a ladder-wielding-tree-napping-old-man to save him named “Old Man With The Ladder.” He pumps the boy’s leg like a water pump to revive him which must be some sort of olden time CPR.Of course the little boys are monkeying around in the bathtub AGAIN, I mean near the well, despite the close brush with death and this time Golden Boy falls into the well. His brother runs for help and after repeating John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt four or five times, almost passes out from exhaustion, leaving his evil mother childless. Fortunately, Old Man With The Ladder comes to his senses and rescues Golden Boy with the same water pump CPR procedure.And the story concludes that this is why Chinese families name their kids little, short names.Families can talk about: How would you feel if your name meant Little or Nothing? Do you know what your name means? Why is the mom so mean and dismissive of the younger brother? Why don’t the little boys mind their mother? Do you mind your mother? How confident are you about that answer? What is your game plan if you fall into a well or deep water? What should you do? And if you see your brother fall in? Why do you think swimming lessons are important? Which is more fun to say: Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo or John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel is I remember this book from childhood and loved it. The name of the little boy is oh so fun to say BUT as an adult the message of this book is horrifying. The mom is absent and neglectful of her younger son, the prized first son is left permenantly scared, and no one learns a lesson except to give the first favored son a short name...I’m sorry what?!? This book did not stand the test of time for me. But I would love to see it revised with a different ending. The illustrations are lovely and well tiki tiki tembo is super fun to say.

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel is One of the most read books when I was a kid. Wanted to share it with my kids. This is a story about two brothers who care for each other. The youngest tries to get help for his big brother who has fallen in the well, but because of the older brother’s super long name he has difficulty expressing the emergency to adults to get help in time.