Tikki Tikki Tembo (An Owlet Book) (Paperback)

~ (Adapter), Blair Lent (Illustrator) "Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it was the custom of all the fathers and mothers in China to give their first..." (more)
Key Phrases: peri pembo, step over step, Old Man With The Ladder, Most Honorable Mother

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you haven't already read Tikki Tikki Tembo, you've probably heard at least someone recite the deliriously long name of its protagonist: Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo, by now a famous refrain in most nursery schools. In this beautiful edition--complete with line and wash illustrations by artist Blair Lent--Arlene Mosel retells an old Chinese folktale about how the people of China came to give their children short names after traditionally giving their "first and honored" sons grand, long names. Tikki tikki tembo (which means "the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world") and his brother Chang (which means "little or nothing") get into trouble with a well, are saved by the Old Man with the Ladder, and change history while they're at it. Tikki Tikki Tembo is a perfect book to read aloud, but don't be surprised if you find yourself joining the ranks of its chanting followers. (Picture book) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In this folktale, help is slow in coming when a Chinese boy falls into a well, since the boy's long and difficult name must be pronounced in full. Beautifully expressive drawings enhance the book's Oriental feel. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (September 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805011668
• ISBN-13: 978-0805011661
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #422,908 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perpetual favorite in our elementary school, May 31, 2000

By	Volkert Volkersz (Snohomish, WA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Tikki Tikki Tembo is a perpetual favorite read-aloud book in our elementary school library and works well all the way up to third or fourth grade. Today I got it out to read to a first grade class that incidentally had heard it yesterday from their classroom teacher. After I offered to read something else by the same author, they begged me to read Tikki Tikki Tembo to them again. Students love to chant Tikki's long name each time they hear it.

Whether or not this is an authentic Chinese folktale, it is a humorous attention-getter that still has a good moral to it. It does provide an opportunity to point out how Chinese names are usually shorter than Japanese names, something most kids in our school would not be aware of.

What amazes me is that in this age of fancy graphics students still are drawn to these simple illustrations.

A recommended read-aloud!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgic Fun!, October 15, 2005

By	Darren (Jersey Shore, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tikki Tikki Tembo (Hardcover)

After recently finding a copy of this childhood treasure in my attic, I was reminded of how much I loved having this story read to me as a child.

This book was read to me over 30 years ago. Ironically, I was even able to recite Tikki's entire full name without having to peer inside the book. Talk about lasting impressions!

This is a great classic for parents to read to their young children and there is something very warm and appealing about about the story, and the simple illustrations that will captivate your child's heart.

It's refreshing to see that this enjoyable book is still available and being read to children.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book for Reading Aloud or Retelling, November 29, 1999

By	Dwain Preston (Quincy, IL) - See all my reviews

"Tikki" is over thirty years old, and still going strong. I am a storyteller, and I love to retell the story of the little boy with the outlandishly long name (giving full credit to Arlene Mosel, of course!). Having learned Chinese, and spent some time in China, I do not try to pass it off as an authentic Chinese folktale. Mosel wrote it to have fun, and those of us who read and tell the story must do it in the same vein. Knowing that I am an old man and that my mental faculties may be fading a bit, my granddaughter, upon hearing me tell it for the first time, asked, "Grandpa, how long did it take you to learn to say that name?" I told her several days of practice (not mentioning that a class of first graders could probably do it in two tries!). Three cheers for Arlene Mosel! God willing, the electronic world will not have completely eradicated the printed word, and Tikki Tikki Tembo will be still be around at the turn of the next millenium!