Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel is about two little boys in China that both fall in a well on two separate occasions. Their rescue and recovery vary because of the length of their names. The second son, Cheng, is rescued quickly because it doesn't take very long for his brother to say, "Hello people, Cheng is in the well." When Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falls in the well, it is a different story. It takes little Cheng some time to communicate with his mother and then the old man with the ladder that action must be taken because he first needs to say his brother's unreasonably long name. I have read MANY reviews of this book online. Most are outraged at the historically inaccuracies, some are insulted that there is very little to be learned from it, and few just plain liked the book. I fall into the few category. My kids are interested in other cultures (not Buggy, she's 1 and oblivious) and were excited to read about people that say "ni hao." I sat down with them one night and read the book through one time. Doodle promptly asked to read it again while Lula got down to play with her toys. Later that night as I was getting them ready for bed, we were talking about the book and Lula promptly starts reciting "Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo." My heart sang! My point is that STUCK. Even while she was messing around and not giving the story her whole attention, it interested her enough that she remembered the name. That's all I ask. Books that hook them in. It is OK with me that the book didn't teach the kids not to play in the well or that mothers shouldn't have a most favored son. Not every book, story, and folk tale need to teach kids how to have a working moral compass. Some just need to teach them to love reading. Mission accomplished.
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