Seven Blind Mice

by Ed Young

"It's a pillar," says one. "It's a fan," says another. One by one, the seven blind mice investigate the strange Something by the pond. And one by one, they come back with a different theory. It's only when the seventh mouse goes out-and explores the whole Something-that the mice see the whole truth. Based on a classic Indian tale, Ed Young's beautifully rendered version is a treasure to enjoy again and again.

"Immensely appealing."( The Horn Book , starred review)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Fantasy, Mathematics, Storytime

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 1992

About the author

Ed Young is the illustrator of more than eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written. Among his books is the Caldecott Medal winner Lon Po Po, which he both wrote and illustrated. He says that his work is inspired by the philosophy of Chinese painting. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this lesson. As far as I know, it comes from the Buddha. There are 7 mice here and I usually hear the moral told as 4 mice. They each feel a part of an Elephant, but they are blind you see so they each get different impressions of what the thing is. I love the moral stated so beautifully in this book: “ Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.” Acupuncture is a wholistic medicine and so we spoke of this idea and parable often in our program with the 4 mice. Seeing the whole picture is the key to helping a person heal. So, I do like this story a lot.

What Ed does with colors is fantastic. Each mouse is a different color and the background is total black and the tails of the mice each stand out. We see the mouse on a part of the elephant, but we only see this brownish shape that they touch and then we see what they think it is like a snake or a cliff in the color of that mouse. It’s a brilliant use of color in my mind. I love it. It’s fun too. The last mouse is the one to finally put it all together.

The niece loved this story. She thought it was funny what all the mice thought the elephant was. She gave this 4 stars. The nephew wasn’t bored, so that’s something. He kept asking what it was they were feeling. He was trying to put it all together. Why are they feeling something different? The last page where we see all the mice at different parts of the elephant he got it. He gave this 3 stars.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both very much fun and also engagingly informative, Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice is in my opinion most perfectly suited for joyful and engaging entertainment but it also contains a seeming multitude of important teachables. Now while the main message promoted with and in Seven Blind Mice is of course that one needs to know, to be aware of, to understand the various parts to comprehend and appreciate the whole and this then vice versa, Seven Blind Mice might also be used to familiarise young children with basic colour patterns, the seven days of the week, as well as the numbers form one to seven. Highly recommended and truly in many ways, a perfect marriage of text and images! And although from a personal and aesthetic point of view, I would actually not really all that much consider Ed Young's illustrations as favourites, his pictorial rendering are indeed a wonderful and useful mirror of both the featured narrative and the learning-based units shown and introduced (for example, how each of the seven blind mice's skin colour seems to correspond to the part of the unknown object, to the elephant, that is being studied each day, except for the last and completely white mouse which then also realises that when combined, the parts actually do make an elephant).

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It’s a simple tale about the whole being bigger than the parts, about really seeing, and it manages to teach about colors, numbers 1 through 7, and the days of the week. Immediately knew what the whole was, but young children, having this read to them or reading it for the first time, might find out only when the seventh and last mouse takes a more careful look.

The paper-collage illustrations are very appealing; they’re bright, bold, colorful, and eye catching. I really liked them, at least in connection with this particular story.

It’s very cute and wise. And children of all ages can enjoy it, even the youngest children. It’s not a board book though, so supervision should be given to any young child who might tear the pages. Even after knowing what happens, I think many children will happily and frequently want this one reread.

4 ½ stars

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been one of my favorites since it was quite new, when my older sons were reading it in school. I found the cover enchanting, with the contrast between the black silhouettes, the mottled earthy background, and the rainbow in the title. And the first few pages, with the rainbow grass stem shaped forms marching across, quite literally thrill me.

Then the structure of the story, which can be used to teach counting, colors, days of the week, ordinal numbers, and of course the theme as stated in the moral... oh, almost a perfect book. Imo, the only thing that could be improved is if the text was more rhythmically repetitive, instead of the fresh syntax for each exploration.

And what a wonderful theme it is, to look at the whole of something before making a judgement. I'm very glad I got this chance to reread the book and see how well it's held up. I'm giving it five stars, even though it's not absolutely perfect, because I love it and because I do think everyone would enjoy it and/or should read it.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another one of my favorite folktales, beautifully illustrated by Ed Young. The blind mice as silhouettes lends emphasis to their blindness.

[Sara Ullery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven Blind Mice
• This delightful book tells the story of seven blind mice and their attempt to figure out a mysterious shape near them. Each mouse comes back with a different opinion of what it is. What could it be?
• Ages 3-7 Grades Prek-2
• Teachers may use this for English, Art
• Individual students will enjoy the illustrations and reading the sight words provided in the text.
• Small groups may form predictions of what the object is before reading, then compare after reading the text.
• Whole class may read this book together and then create art that reflects the illustrations.
• This book won the Caldecott Honor
• Available online. Libraries, bookstores, youtube.

[Payam Ebrahimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

اقتباس خیلی خوبی از «فیل در تاریکی» که کاملا متناسب با سن مخاطبه.
کتاب پر از نقاط درخشانه
-مخاطب از شخصیت‌های داستان جلوتره. می‌تونه چیزهایی ببینه و بفهمه که اونها نمیدونن
-مخاطب در پروسه‌ی کشف با موش‌ها همراه میشه
-تصاویر جذاب
-خیلی ریز روزهای هفته و رنگ‌ها هم به مخاطب آموزش داده میشه

تنها مشکلم با پایانش بود. پایان داستان درست و جذابیه. اما فکرمیکنم اگه پیام داستان در پایان فریاد زده نشه خیلی بهتره. تمام قصه رو گفتیم که مخاطب به فلان نکته پی ببره. نیاز نیست در آخر باز هم اون نکته رو مستقیم بگیم.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor 1993
This is about seven colorful mice and how they each perceive an unknown object, an elephant, differently because they didn't observe the object in its entirety.
The story concludes with a moral:
Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.

[Chase Ryder Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dad: My new favorite picture book. We will be adding it to our shelf. I love the story, illustration and the moral of the story. Passes my picky parent test with flying colors.

Ben: Loved this one. The illustrations mixed with the perfect short but not dumbed down text we're perfect.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author/artist Ed Young, who won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for his 1990 picture-book, Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China , went on to win a Caldecott Honor with this 1992 title, which offers an inventive murine retelling of the classic Indian fable of The Blind Men and the Elephant. Seven blind mice, confronted with "a strange Something" by their pond, set out to solve the mystery of its existence. One by one they explore the Something, each coming to a different conclusion as to what it is. It falls to the final mouse to discover the truth, which he does by taking the time to "see" the entire picture, rather than just a piece of the whole.

Visually striking, with boldly graphic artwork - the pages themselves are solid black, the text is white, and the mice are vividly depicted using cut paper in bright colors (save for the final mouse, which is white) - Seven Blind Mice is a book that holds the reader's attention. It is easy to see why it was honored by the Caldecott committee! The story itself is simple but engaging, with its message of trying to "see" the whole picture, rather than just pieces of the puzzle, seamlessly presented as part of the tale. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, as well as to fans of Ed Young's marvelous artwork.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most memorable part of this book is the boldness of the colorful mice against the field of black, and the way each mouse’s imaginings about the elephant match his color. This book is a great tool for teaching kids the dangers of jumping to conclusions or making snap judgments. It might also make an interesting companion for a science lesson about making hypotheses and testing them out.

Read at Tales for Fours and Fives on 7/7/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Booklist starred (Vol. 88, No. 15 (April 1, 1992))

Ages 3-8. In Young's version of the familiar Indian folktale of the blind men and the elephant, seven blind mice approach an elephant, ask what it is, explore various parts of the beast, and arrive at different conclusions. On Monday, Red Mouse feels the elephant's leg and proclaims "It's a pillar." On Tuesday, Green Mouse jumps onto the elephant's trunk and decides, "It's a snake." On Wednesday, Yellow Mouse checks out the tusk and says, "It's a spear." But on the seventh day, White Mouse scampers all over the creature and puts all the clues together. The author offers this moral, "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole." Many preschool and primary grade teachers will find that the book reinforces their students' learning of colors, days of the week, and ordinal numbers, while heeding the story's admonition not to lose sight of the whole in their enthusiasm for identifying the parts.

Graphically, this picture book is stunning, with the cut-paper figures of the eight characters dramatically silhouetted against black backgrounds. White lettering and borders provide contrast, but the eye is always drawn to the mottled, beige tones of the elephant and the brightly colored mice, vibrant against the large, black pages. Playing with color and line, light and dark, and with the concepts of sightlessness and visualization, Young designs a title page spread with only the mice's colorful tails appearing against the blackness; like the blind mice themselves, viewers will call on their imaginations to fill in the rest. What does one see? Curved lines? Tails? Mice? At once profound and simple, intelligent and playful, this picture book is the work of an artist who understands the medium and respects his audience.



Horn Book starred (September, 1992)

In the Indian fable, each blind mouse visits the elephant and declares that he has discovered a pillar, a snake, a cliff, a spear, a fan, or a rope. But a seventh mouse, the only one to investigate the whole "something," is able to discern that it is an elephant. The spareness of the text is echoed in the splendid collages. Immensely appealing.



Kirkus Reviews starred (1992)

A many-talented illustrator (Lon Po Po, 1989, Caldecott Medal) uses a new medium--collage--in an innovative reworking of "The Blind Men and the Elephant," with splendid results: a book that casually rehearses the days of the week, numbers (ordinal and cardinal), and colors while memorably explicating and extending the theme: "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole." The mice (first seen as an intriguing row of bright tails on the elegantly spare black title spread) are the colors of the rainbow plus white; they, the white text, and the parts of the elephant (as they really are and as the mice imagine them) are superimposed on a dramatic black ground. The real elephant is skillfully composed with textured and crumpled paper in gentle earth tones; in a sly philosophical twist, the form each mouse imagines is the color of the mouse: e.g., Green Mouse says the trunk is a snake, shown as green. On Sunday, White Mouse (the only female) runs over the entire elephant, getting the others to join her; now, at last, with her help, they all understand the whole. Exquisitely crafted: a simple, gracefully honed text, an appealing story, real but unobtrusive values and levels of meaning, and outstanding illustrations and design--all add up to a perfect book.



Publishers Weekly (March 16, 1992)

In a stunning celebration of color Caldecott medalist Young ( Lon Po Po ) offers a vibrant variation on the fable of the blind men trying to identify an elephant. Seven differently-hued blind mice approach the ``strange Something'' in their midst on successive days and report their findings to the group. A large black square provides the background for each painting, a dramatic contrast to the brilliant images ``felt'' by the sightless rodents. Young's textured, cut-paper illustrations allow readers to visualize just how a floppy ear might be mistaken for a fan (``I felt it move!''); the elephant's curving trunk springs to life as both a jewel-green snake and a glowing yellow spear. The spare text permits greater exploration and enjoyment of the artwork--it may be difficult to read the story straight through without stopping to compare the various images. The ``Mouse Moral'' that concludes the tale--``Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole''--may seem superfluous to those who prefer the imaginative ``vision'' of the mice. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)



School Library Journal (April 1992)

K-Gr 3-- A real winner, on many levels. The first impression is visual delight. Brilliant colors and varied textures of paper collage are placed in striking contrast against velvety black pages. Bold white lettering imposed on the dark background tells of seven blind mice, seen in seven bright colors. Over the course of a week each investigates, in turn, the strange ``Something'' it encounters. To one it is a pillar, to another a snake, to another a cliff. Finally, on the seventh day, the white mouse, running across the thing and remembering what the others found, concludes that it is an elephant. The tale ends with the moral that wisdom comes from seeing ``the whole.'' Adapting the old fable of the blind men and the elephant by weaving in the days of the week, the mice, and the beautiful shapes of the things they see, Young gives children a clever story, wise words, and a truly exciting visual experience.-- Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these simple illustrations and this exploration of how seven blind mice would describe an elephant.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book as part of an audio CD/paperback kit from our local library. The book is very short, with minimal text in a big font and bold, textured illustrations. It's a retelling of a classic Indian fable, using colorful blind mice in place of the blind men.

The audio CD is very short, but I enjoyed the narration by B.D. Wong and music by Ernest V. Troost. The audio CD has an ISBN 0439027780.

This book was selected as one of the books for the November 2016- Caldecott Honor discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

This book was also selected as one of the books for the July 2018 - Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Picture Book Winners 1991-1999 discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.



interesting quote:

"The Mouse Moral:
Knowing in part may make a fine tale,
but wisdom comes from seeing the whole." (p. 39)

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last few months, Sean has been raving about Seven Blind Mice and how much he likes the different ways the mice "saw" the elephant. Recently he borrowed it from school to read it to me and I enjoyed it too.

Seven Blind Mice retells the story of the three blind men who mistake an elephant for a tree, a snake and a rope. There are apparently numerous versions of the story throughout history as it's a perfect way to explain the danger of misconceptions. Ed Young's version seems to follow most closely a Buddhist rendering of the tale which involves nine interpretations of the elephant.

In Ed Young's colorful version, each mouse (represented by a different color) has a go at examining the elephant. They come up with ideas such as: a fan, a pillar, a snake, a shovel, a cliff and and so forth. It's not until the white mouse stops to think about what the others has described that he's able to put the pieces together and come up with "elephant."

[Susan Mortimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The winner of the 1992 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for the picture book category (and the 1993 Caldecott Honor choice) Young’s re-telling of an ancient Indian tale is as captivatingly told as it is illustrated. This is the story of seven blind mice who encounter an elephant; each one attempting to describe the elephant based on the one part of him that they examine. Six of them describe the whole of the elephant based on incomplete examination, while the seventh mouse wisely puts all the parts together and makes the educated guess. This is a lesson in not making assumptions, in taking your time when learning, and in having patience. Young’s illustrations also have each of the mice in their own color, and each visiting the elephant on different days of the week, which is a nice touch for the pre- or early-reader. This book works well for both the younger listeners as well as begining readers reading this one on their own. (Ages 2-7)

[R. C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three-year-old wanted this one over and over and over. We seriously read it six times in a row at one sitting. She caught that it was a fable and needed to talk about that. I'm all for super-accessible morality tales and I seriously doubt any kid is going to catch any subconscious racism about the colorful mice being wrong and the white mouse having the whole picture. Anyway, white is symbolic of things besides caucasians. I put it in the context of wise fools for my bigger kids, and as such it was a good discussion to have right before April 1.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important tale...about perspective and seeing not just a part but the whole in order to reach understanding and wisdom. The illustrations are wonderful. On several pages, the collage elements have such depth that it appeared they were lift the flap elements (they aren't but on one of the pages, we had to touch it just to be sure...they seem to rise off the page.). Wonderful!!

So many possible teaching points: colors, days of the week, ordinal numbers, similes, perspective/point of view.

[Agnė · Rating 4 out of 5]

1) Wise and fun:
The Mouse Moral:
Knowing in part may make a fine tale,
but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.

2) Educational: teaches numbers, colors and days of the week.

3) Beautifully illustrated:

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I missed reading this one for so long! This would be a fun book to pair with "They all saw a cat" if you want to discuss perspective and point of view.

I read this to my 6 year old and then we started right back at the beginning and read it again. It's one of those books that puts a really big idea into a little picture book.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and so do the kids. Great book to find patterns in and talk about colors. It also has a really good message, which I love to hear what kids come up with for it. Definitely a book to have on my shelf in the classroom.

[Sammi Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Color unit
Guessing game
open ended question

[Jennifer B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely moral tale with minimalist illustrations that work perfectly.

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven blind mice come across an unknown creature. Each mouse feels just one part of the creature and assumes incorrectly it is a different object. It's not until the seventh mouse puts all of the clues together and determines that the creature is an elephant.

A fun read about waiting for all of the information and not jumping to conclusions. Read aloud to Kindergarten or 1st-Graders.

[Maren Swallow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book on PERSPECTIVE. The mice are trying to figure out what the weird shape is by the pond and they all see it as something different.

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baseado numa conhecida fábula chinesa traz lindas ilustrações em colagens. Sem elas não teria como contar essa história, tão simples mas tão clara na sua mensagem.



Histórico de leitura
07/02/2021

"Um dia, sete camundongos cegos se espantaram ao topar com uma Coisa estranha perto da lagoa. - O que é isso? - eles exclamaram, e voltaram correndo para casa."

[Taylar Sizemore]

This book would be ideal to read to students who are beginning to learn about observations and inferences in science class. This would be great for grades 1&2. But can be used for other grades with supplemental activities.

[Jessica Poirot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This modern picture book may lack some color, but this piece of folklore by Ed Young is great. The plot is the story of 7 blind mice who investigate what a mysterious creature is by the lake. The Caldecott Award-winning illustrations tell the story in a way that is unique. They show what each mouse imagines and what they are really looking at. There is no emphasis on the setting because the mice cannot see. This book is one you need to add to your collection.

[Gabriele Goldstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time favourite picture book. Rest in peace, Mr. Young.

[Sydney Horton]

Did the seven blind mice find a pillar?

Using literary conventions, Seven Blind Mice is a story that explains how you must see the whole picture rather than a part of it to gain wisdom. In the story, a different-colored mouse goes to explore what they soon find out is an elephant. The first mouse goes on Monday, the second on Tuesday, and so on. Each mouse only grasps one part of the elephant's body. By Sunday the last mouse went and put all the other mice's ideas together to come to the conclusion that it was an elephant. The moral or main message is written on the last page. This folktale is a wonderful book for beginner readers as it includes colors and days of the week. With the illustrations being simple but still detailed, I believe Ed Young most definitely deserved a Caldecott award.