Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. New York: Philomel Books, 1992.

This children’s book is a Caldecott winner that tells the story of seven unique mice who take turns examining a “strange object” in their pond. These mice are blind, so they are not able to identify the object by sight; they must investigate using other senses. The book is divided into days, on each day a different mouse, characterized by a color, approaches the object and comments on what it might be. The first day they are all too scared to go near it, and decide to go home. The book also introduces the days of the week to younger children, beginning with Monday. They also are exposed to numbers, for example words like first, second, third, and forth are used to specify the order in which the mice take turns examining the object.

The Red Mouse went first to find out what was in their pond. The reader can clearly see this object, but to the Red Mouse, it appears as a pillar. He returns to the group to share his findings, but no one believed him. The Green Mouse had the chance to explore on Tuesday, and again, readers are able to see a portion of the object even though the mice can not. His consensus is that the object is a snake. The next day, on Wednesday, the Yellow Mouse disagrees that the object is in fact a spear. On Thursday it is the Purple Mouse’s turn – he believes the object to be a cliff. According to The Orange Mouse who was the fifth to go (Friday) the object resembled a fan. Blue Mouse ventured out on Saturday to discover that the object seemed like a rope. Again, the mice don’t agree with this analysis and begin to bicker. Sunday came, and the White Mouse got the chance to see for her self (the only female) what the object was. The White Mouse “ran across the top and from end to end” (Young) to find that this object is “as sturdy as a pillar, supple as a snake, wide as a cliff, sharp as a spear, breezy as a fan, stringy as a rope, but altogether the Something is…an elephant!” (Young) Then all the mice ran across the elephant to get a better image, and they also agreed with White Mouse. Children are given a “Mouse Moral” at the end of this book: “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole” (Young).

I felt as though this book accomplished a lot of things and would be a good way to introduce young children to the idea of being blind and what the implications are. It also incorporated teaching children colors, numbers, days of the week, and gave an important moral at the end of the story. I think that most children would enjoy the contrast in colors, the black background with the colorful mice on it as well as the creative portrayal of the elephant. I question the author’s choice to include a picture of the elephant for the reader. It may be more impacting if readers are also curious about this “Something” in the pond, but most children would catch on that it is an elephant. I also question the choice of having only one female mouse, and that she was the one to make the largest discovery about the elephant. Whether or not this was a conscious choice is debatable, but there are certain implications of this decision. As a whole, I would include this book in my collection because of the unique presentation of how someone with visual impairments may “view” life. That is, children are receiving an alternative perspective on how to experience their world. Ed Young does a remarkable job with his illustrations; children would be captivated by the texture of the elephant and the bright colors of the mice.