How long does it take to read Tikki Tikki Tembo?
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel takes about 51 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 51 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1968. 46 pages, about 12,650 words. Written for children.
2 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 1 hour 24 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 51 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 32 minutes |
The page count is the median across 28 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Tikki Tikki Tembo is a picture book set in ancient China, with illustrations by Blair Lent. It invents a custom in which parents give their first-born sons grand, lengthy names that must always be spoken in full, while second sons receive short, unimportant ones. The title character is one such eldest boy, and his little brother is called Chang, meaning "Little or Nothing." Their mother clearly favors the older child. The two boys play near the well at their home, and the story begins as an accident there sets events moving. It also serves as an origin tale explaining why Chinese names are short.
This summary was written by AI and checked by a second AI model. How these are chosen.
Subjects: Folklore, picture book for children, children's stories, Neighbors, Mothers and sons, Brothers
