Seven Blind Mice

Author: Ed Young

Illustrator: Ed Young

Publishing information: (Philomel; 1st Ed. Edition, April 29, 1992))

Number of Pages: 48 pages

Genre: Fiction 

Summary of Plot:

“Something” (an elephant) was fascinating seven blind mice. These mice were each a different color. One day of the week, each mouse took their turn of trying to find out what it was. One mice, the red one thought that the “Something" was a pillar (the elephant’s leg). The Green mouse thought it was a snake (the trunk). The yellow mouse thought it was a spear (tusk). The fourth mouse, purple, thought it was a great cliff (the head). The orange mouse thought it was a fan (the ear). The blue mouse thought it was a rope (the tail). Finally, the seventh mouse decided to search all over, not just a part of it. He declared that it was an elephant. That is what it was.

My Reaction to the book:

I loved this sentence. “Mouse moral: Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.” This is a great lesson. People would be wise to live by this moral. Sometimes we judge things too fast. We need to examine things in its entirety; otherwise we may miss the big picture.  

Potential Problems:
            Colorblindness. This book uses colors. If a child is colorblind they may not be able to see the full effect of the story.

Recommendations:

It is a Caldecott Honor Book.

The following lessons can be taught through this story:

 Counting

Naming colors

Days of the week

Place position

Not being too quick to judge

It has many things you can teach with it.