Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Young, Ed. 1992. SEVEN BLIND MICE. New York, NY: The Putnam & Grosset Group. ISBN 0399222618

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Seven Blind Mice is a tale retold and illustrated by Ed Young as an adaptation of the Blind Men and the Elephant. Seven differently colored mice venture out separately to investigate the Something they discovered. Each mouse had a different idea of what this Something was based on the part they discovered. It took the last mouse to fully investigate the situation and lead the rest to wisdom.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book contains colorful images of mice on a black background, symbolizing their blindness. Each two-page spread contains the multi-colored mice on the left with the action on the right. When one mouse goes to investigate part of the Something on the right page, all of the mice are on the left, stacked on top of each other in eager anticipation. The next page spread shows what the little mouse thought he felt.

The words on each page are minimal and the text is fairly large. The simplistic illustrations appear to be cut-outs placed on a black background. This allows the reader to concentrate on only the part each mouse was examining at the time. At the end, the last mouse sums up the observations from the previous mice to help him decide on what the Something could be.

This story sends a very important message, “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.” Each little mouse only investigated part of the elephant and came to a different conclusion as to what the Something was. It took the last mouse to realize that all the evidence must be collected to make an accurate determination.

4. HONORS AND REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “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.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Young gives children a clever story, wise words, and a truly exciting visual experience.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* Discuss the days of the week with the students and find out what they do throughout the week
* Have children close their eyes. Hold an object and let them feel only part of it. See if the student can figure out what it is. Then have the student feel the whole object. Did he or she get it right this time?
*Additional reading:
Yolen, Jane. THE EMPEROR AND THE KITE. ISBN 0698116445
Young, Ed. BEYOND THE GREAT MOUNTAINS. ISBN 0811843432
Willems, Mo. DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!. ISBN 078681988X