Arlene Tichy Mosel (August 27, 1921 – May 1996) was an American children's librarian who wrote the text for two award-winning children's

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

illustrated by

Blair Lent Blair Lent (January 22, 1930 – January 27, 2009), who sometimes wrote as Ernest Small, was an American illustrator and writer of children's books, perhaps best known for those with Chinese themes such as ''Tikki Tikki Tembo'' (1968). He won the ...

Tikki Tikki Tembo ''Tikki Tikki Tembo'' is a 1968 picture book written by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent. The book tells the story of a Chinese boy with a long name who falls into a well. It is a sort of origin myth about why Chinese names are so sho ...

'' won the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and Lent won the annual Caldecott Medal for '' The Funny Little Woman''.

Biography

She was born as Arlene Tichy on August 27, 1921, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

to Edward J. Tichy, an engraver and Marie Fingulin Tichy. She attended

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

, where she was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1942, and later attended Western Reserve University (now

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

) where she graduated with a Master of Science in Library Science degree in 1959. She married sales engineer Victor H. Mosel on December 26, 1942, with whom she had three children; Nancy Mosel Farrar, Joanne and James.Arlene (Tichy) Mosel, ''Contemporary Authors Online'',

Gale (Cengage) Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale Gro ...

, entry updated December 7, 2000. Retrieved February 3, 2009. Mosel had been an assistant in the children's department at

Enoch Pratt Free Library The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland. Its Central Library and office headquarters are located on 400 Cathedral Street (southbound) and occupy the northeastern three quarters of a city block bound ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, before becoming an associate professor of

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...

. She was also an assistant coordinator of Children's Services at the

Cuyahoga County Public Library Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) has 27 branches that serve 47 communities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It was ranked the number one public library in the United States among libraries serving populations of more than 500,000 by the Hennen's Ame ...

. The book ''

'' was published by

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

in 1968 and illustrated by

, It was presented as a retelling of a traditional Chinese story about a boy whose rescue after falling into a well was delayed due to his extremely lengthy name. The book was recognized as an

ALA Notable Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

and was recognized that year with the

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and P ...

.Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present
,

. Retrieved February 3, 2009. In 1997, the book was selected by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on its list of the 50 best children's books of the previous 50 years. It has been suggested, however, that the story probably originated from the Japanese folktale

Jugemu is a famous story, a form of Japanese spoken entertainment. It has a simple story, with the most humorous part being the repetition of a ridiculously long name. It is often used in training for entertainers. Plot A couple could not think of a ...

instead of a Chinese folktale. In another collaboration with illustrator Blair Lent, Mosel's 1972 story '' The Funny Little Woman'', published by

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American Publishing, book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton ( ...

, won the

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for illustration,"Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 – Present"

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

. Retrieved February 3, 2009. and was recognized as an Honor Book for the Globe–Horn Book Award and the 1974 Hans Christian Andersen International Children's Book Awards. Mosel died in May 1996 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosel, Arlene 1921 births 1996 deaths American librarians American women librarians American children's writers American Lutherans Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Cleveland Date of death missing American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Lutherans American women academics