Rating: 
Summary: Proceed with care
Review: "Tikki Tikki Tembo" is, for many, a charming story about two daring Chinese brothers that disobey their mother and fall down a well. The first born son, Tikki Tikki Tembo, is clearly more valued and important than the second son, Chang. The story has a folk-tale feel to it, and the rhythm of Tikki Tikki Tembo's full name, along with the rest of the story, is quite catching. The story is mildly interesting and the illustrations are not very captivating. Before reading this story to young children, it is important that you consider both your audience and the racial implications of the story. "Tikki Tikki Tembo" aims to portray traditional Chinese life. However, there are certain elements in the story that are not, in fact, accurate to the Chinese culture at all. Because of this, stereotypes may begin to assert themselves in the minds of young children reading this story. For one, the clothes that the characters in the story are wearing are not authentically Chinese, but instead are Japanese. In addition, the name 'Tikki Tikki Tembo' is not Chinese, and the name of his little brother, Chang, does not mean "little or nothing" like the story indicates. Because of these cultural inaccuracies, one should practice care if or when reading this story to children. If you are looking for a book that presents positive images of the Chinese culture, "Tikki Tikki Tembo" is not a good choice. This book does not function to support the sensitive issue of multiculturalism in America, rather, it has potential to be harmful to the situation at large.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Reading Aloud or Retelling
Review: "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!
Rating: 
Summary: Memories - Old and New
Review: I bought this book 9 years ago when my daughter was a baby. I wanted very much to share this book with her. 2 kids later, we all adore this book - the story, illustrations, the sing-song name, the old man's dream, the fact that adults change in the end. This is a great story that will jog your memories of childhood and make new ones for you & your little dreamers.
Rating:
Summary: A name that'll stick in your mind for years
Review: I don't understand why people are looking at this book like it's some sort of historical text. I doubt many 5-year-olds are going to read this book and say, "Well, it was OK, but it was full of historical inaccuracies and perpetuated stereotypes harmful to the Chinese community." It's a story, nothing more. It's not meant to teach any life-changing moral. Stop searching for offensive material and enjoy the book the way a child would.A child will enjoy this, by the way. I know I did, when I first read it perhaps 25 years ago. It may not (as I said above) provide profound revelations, but it does encourage children to do the right thing whether people treat them with respect or not. Lighten up, enjoy the rhythm of the name, watch kids try to say it all in one breath, and years from now you'll still remember Tikki Tikki Tembo and his helpful brother.
Rating:
Summary: A name that'll stick in your mind for years
Review: I don't understand why people are looking at this book like it's some sort of historical text. I doubt many 5-year-olds are going to read this book and say, "Well, it was OK, but it was full of historical inaccuracies and perpetuated stereotypes harmful to the Chinese community." It's a story, nothing more. It's not meant to teach any life-changing moral. Stop searching for offensive material and enjoy the book the way a child would. A child will enjoy this, by the way. I know I did, when I first read it perhaps 25 years ago. It may not (as I said above) provide profound revelations, but it does encourage children to do the right thing whether people treat them with respect or not. Lighten up, enjoy the rhythm of the name, watch kids try to say it all in one breath, and years from now you'll still remember Tikki Tikki Tembo and his helpful brother.
Rating: 
Summary: Proper morals do not imply a proper story
Review: I have a bit of a tale to tell regarding the children's classic, Tikki Tikki Tembo (a story whose title is even forcibly shortened, despite itself). As most of you know by now, this book rerenders the old Chinese folktale of Tikki Tikki Tembo -No Sa Rembo-Chari Bari Ruchi-Pip Peri Pembo, the boy whose name was so long that he almost drowned while his brother Chang explained the situation in full. The morals here are clear: reductionism is praiseworthy, and pride is swallowable. All children should learn such simple rules at an early age, or they too may find themselves drowning. What better way, then, to illustrate such a truth then by composing an amusing fable? Such were certainly the thoughts of transcriber Arlene Mosel and publishers Henry Holt & Company. As a child, this story was one of the many in circulation by my bedside, and every evening when my father tucked me in he would pick one up and read it aloud. Like any son, I was happy to hear the telling no matter how many times I may have heard it before. But on the evening of June 14, 1997 - seven years ago to the day - my father began to show signs of mental disorientation during the repeated name utterances. Suddenly, and full in the middle of a spasmodic "Chari Bari Ruchi," he flew into an epileptic fit that could not be cured by heavy doses of Dexedrine. I watched in horror as my dad drank down his tongue and died of suffocation. Such may I emphasize by direct experience the strengths of conciseness, so much so that it appears this book should not even be touched by unwary people. Please, please, think twice.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I haven't read this book in...ten years or so, but as soon as I read the title 'TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO, I LOVE THAT BOOK'. That pretty much covers it. It's wonderful, I wish the kids I am around would be patient enough to listen to it. :) WONDERFUL WONDERFUL BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Rhythmic Story, but a little inaccurate
Review: I think any child would love to hear the rhythm of saying Tikki Tikki Tembo's entire name. I would say that this aspect of the book makes it the most memorable. Aside from that, I would say, as a college student, I find many inaccuracies regarding the Chinese culture in this book. Firstly, the attire is more akin to the Japanese culture, and the name Tikki Tikki Tembo is rather misleading. I also feel that the indifference that the mother feels toward Chang may lead a child to believe that a second or third born is considered "little or nothing". I would recommend this book in terms of entertainment, but not for educational value.
Rating:
Summary: Not to be confused with Rikki tikki tavi
Review: If you, like my pretty self, grew up reading (or being read) the tale of Tikki Tikki Tembo, then you already know exactly the correct cadences and tones to use when pronouncing his name. Come on, everybody! Say it along with me... Tikki Tikki Tembo-No Sa Rembo-Chari Bari Ruchi-Pip Peri Pembo. Whew! It's a mouthful, which is of course the point. In this book (originally published, I kid you not, in 1968) we learn about the dangers of over-monikering one's own offspring. Two boys live with their mother near an old well. The eldest is considered the more important of the two, and his is the extraordinarily long name. His younger brother is named Chang. Chang and Tikki love one another, and when Chang falls into the well his brother rushes off to save him. Tikki fetches the old man with the ladder, who rescues the sodden boy. Later (not the same day, thankfully) the boys play around the well again and this time it's Tikki who has fallen in. When Chang attempts to tell his mother what has happened, it's all he can do to spout out that enormous mouthful of a name. When his mother finally understands, he too is sent to the old man with the ladder and a very similar scene occurs. In the end Tikki is rescued, though his prolonged well-exposure leaves him sick for a little while. Hence (according to this tale and, yes yes, not historically accurate in the least), "the Chinese have always thought it wise to give all their children little, short names instead of great long names". When I was read this book as a kid I remember disliking small sections of it (whilst enjoying the entire thing as a whole). I felt bad for Chang, a boy whose name translated roughly to "little or nothing". Yet Chang and Tikki don't engage in any sibling rivalry or bad feelings. They play together as happily as can be. And though their mother does refer to Tikki with such names as "my first and honored son, heir of all I possess", the final shot of the book is Chang seated snugly on his mother's lap as they speak with the bed-ridden Tikki. So is the book racist? I dunno. Not to my eyes, though I've already admitted that having been read this book while a child, I'm biased towards it. I really don't think there's anything in here to seriously offend someone, unless becoming offended is their goal. Yes, we can all agree that the clothing is Japanese while the characters are Chinese. Confusing, certainly. And the last line in the story is a bit odd, but personally I don't feel it will turn your children into raving-mad racists. It's just an amusing story told with a great deal of zip and verve. Author Arlene Mosel has told it in such a way that the reader really enjoys repeated passages that say things like, "He pumped the water out of him and pushed the air into him, and pumped the water out of him and pushed the air into him". Blair Lent's illustrations are just as amusing and fun. Though a book of limited colors, it almost seems to the reader as if there are millions of subtle variations on the blues and greens shown throughout the story. The fact of the matter is, this is just a great book. Top drawer. If you've an ability to tell a tale well, then it is a crime and shame that you are not reading this book to a little one right now. For as long as children enjoy hearing rhymes and syncopated rhythms, this book will remain a popular item.
Rating:
Summary: Not to be confused with Rikki tikki tavi
Review: If you, like my pretty self, grew up reading (or being read) the tale of Tikki Tikki Tembo, then you already know exactly the correct cadences and tones to use when pronouncing his name. Come on, everybody! Say it along with me... Tikki Tikki Tembo-No Sa Rembo-Chari Bari Ruchi-Pip Peri Pembo. Whew! It's a mouthful, which is of course the point. In this book (originally published, I kid you not, in 1968) we learn about the dangers of over-monikering one's own offspring. Two boys live with their mother near an old well. The eldest is considered the more important of the two, and his is the extraordinarily long name. His younger brother is named Chang. Chang and Tikki love one another, and when Chang falls into the well his brother rushes off to save him. Tikki fetches the old man with the ladder, who rescues the sodden boy. Later (not the same day, thankfully) the boys play around the well again and this time it's Tikki who has fallen in. When Chang attempts to tell his mother what has happened, it's all he can do to spout out that enormous mouthful of a name. When his mother finally understands, he too is sent to the old man with the ladder and a very similar scene occurs. In the end Tikki is rescued, though his prolonged well-exposure leaves him sick for a little while. Hence (according to this tale and, yes yes, not historically accurate in the least), "the Chinese have always thought it wise to give all their children little, short names instead of great long names". When I was read this book as a kid I remember disliking small sections of it (whilst enjoying the entire thing as a whole). I felt bad for Chang, a boy whose name translated roughly to "little or nothing". Yet Chang and Tikki don't engage in any sibling rivalry or bad feelings. They play together as happily as can be. And though their mother does refer to Tikki with such names as "my first and honored son, heir of all I possess", the final shot of the book is Chang seated snugly on his mother's lap as they speak with the bed-ridden Tikki. So is the book racist? I dunno. Not to my eyes, though I've already admitted that having been read this book while a child, I'm biased towards it. I really don't think there's anything in here to seriously offend someone, unless becoming offended is their goal. Yes, we can all agree that the clothing is Japanese while the characters are Chinese. Confusing, certainly. And the last line in the story is a bit odd, but personally I don't feel it will turn your children into raving-mad racists. It's just an amusing story told with a great deal of zip and verve. Author Arlene Mosel has told it in such a way that the reader really enjoys repeated passages that say things like, "He pumped the water out of him and pushed the air into him, and pumped the water out of him and pushed the air into him". Blair Lent's illustrations are just as amusing and fun. Though a book of limited colors, it almost seems to the reader as if there are millions of subtle variations on the blues and greens shown throughout the story. The fact of the matter is, this is just a great book. Top drawer. If you've an ability to tell a tale well, then it is a crime and shame that you are not reading this book to a little one right now. For as long as children enjoy hearing rhymes and syncopated rhythms, this book will remain a popular item.
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