Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo – Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston
ISBN: 0-033-012711-4

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

“Tikki Tikki Tembo” is the retelling of an ancient Chinese folktale of why the Chinese have such short names. This is an amusing story of how one brother has such a long name that, when he falls into a well, his brother has a very hard time explaining what happened because he can’t get all of the syllables of the name out.

The actual story is very well done and this would make an excellent story to kick-off a unit on China and Chinese culture. This could include not only language arts, though this book, but teachers could incorporate China throughout the day through science, math, and social studies.

My only real complaint is the illustrations. The only colors are green, blue, and yellow and they tend to get dull as the book progresses. I think if different illustrations could be used, it would greatly enhance the book.

Despite the pictures, “Tikki Tikki Tembo” is a great book that has many applications in the classroom.