The Blind Men and the Elephant

by Karen Backstein, Annie Mitra (Illustrator)

Dive into this retelling of the classic fable about six blind men who are only allowed to feel one part of an elephant before having to guess the animal!

Six blind men have learned about the world through sound and touch. When the prince gets an elephant, the men decide to go to the palace and touch it. How is it they come up with such different impressions of what an elephant is like? Young readers will laugh at the answer! One man feels the side, one the trunk, one the tusk, one the ear, one the tail, and one the leg. They argue among themselves until the wise prince kindly tells them that they are all right, but that each man has felt only a part of the elephant. They just need to put their heads - and all the parts - together.



Part of the acclaimed "Hello Reader!" series for beginning readers, this retelling of a classic tale uses simple language and charming illustrations to entertain children while building reading skills. An introductory letter from an education specialist offers advice to parents on helping their children learn to read.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Classics, 1st Grade, Folklore

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple and entertaining retelling of the Indian parable. The illustrations are colorful and the narrative is short and good for beginning readers. The story helps to show how different perspectives can give people a completely different outlook on a situation or subject. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a wonderful job showing children that people can sometimes experience the same thing but have different perceptions of it. Each blind man learned that you must pay attention to everything, not just the portion you encounter first. It also can be used to discuss blindness and demonstrate similes.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six blind men went on a journey to find out what an elephant feels like. The were lead to an elephant that resided in a prince's palace. Each one of the blind men felt a different part of the elephant and each had a different picture of what the elephant looked liked. This resulted in a huge argument, that the prince decided to come out and find out what the heated argument in the garden was all about. When he heard that the men were blind and had different opinions of what the elephant looked like - he explained that they were all correct and that it was just the different perspectives that each one held because of the different parts of the elephant they felt. I enjoyed the story, but just felt that the ending was lacking a bit.

[Anna Gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade: 1-3
Genre: Traditional Literature
Unique Feature: This book provides the chance to learn many tier 2 vocabulary words, which students might not otherwise come across. Also, this book pushes younger readers to really think about what the lesson behind a story might be, as the moral of this story is not explicitly stated in the text, but rather must be inferred.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

SMART 2018

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: my kid rated this. When asked why she stated, “because it makes me think of other people”. The 4 is likely arbitrary. C’est la vie.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic book for everyone to understand.

[Despina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story!
Read for English Reading Circle

[curtis :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Michell Karnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic Indian folktale.

[Sheli · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun re-telling of a childhood favourite. Thank you for this adaptation!

[Lisa Overberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fable, set in India, uses similes to describe how each blind man perceives the prince's elephant differently. It can be used in the classroom to help students realize they must consider the whole picture for complete understanding. Young readers will enjoy the simple, repetitive text. They will also learn that people with disabilities are able to live happily despite their limitations.

Genre: Fable
Reading level: 2.5
Grade level: K-2
Lexile: 280L

[Jayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is alot like the Seven Blind Mice but with human characters. They all feel a different part of the elephant and come back with very different perspectives and ideas about what it is like. They realize that if they combine all of their observations they can get a real feel for what the elephant is like. A good book to include with fables.

[Linh Tong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be good for an introduction to similes. It talks about the blind men who uses their other senses to describe the elephant. It is filled with similes. For example, one of the blind men said that the elephant's tail was like a rope. After we read this book, we will look at other animals and create similes to describe the animals.

[Kaylan Nurse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have all of their senses. This story shows a great way for people without them to make use of the senses they're given. The men use their senses to find out more things about the elephant in the story. This could be a good story to read when doing a science lesson about the five senses and ways they can be used.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this book as we were learning about ancient India. It is a great story filled with similes. It teaches the importance of getting to know more about something before making a judgment.
One of my favorite lines: "You are all right. But you are all wrong too. For each of you touched only one part of the animal."

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about six blind men who experience an elephant together. They all feel a different part of the elephant, and come to different conclusions about what an elephant is like. They learn that they need to each experience all the parts of an elephant and cooperate to learn what an elephant is really like.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A retelling of the fable from India about six blind men who each get a limited understanding of what an elephant is by feeling only one part of it." (publisher summary)

Would be an interesting pairing with Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice based on the same fable.

I appreciate that the story begins with a framing of the blind men as capable and competent, rather than unable.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has always been a favorite of mine and I read and retold it to my daughters when they were little. My favorite line....You are all right. But you are all wrong too. For each of you touched only one part of the animal.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six different blind men feel one part of th elephant and mistake it for being similar to another object (ex: trunk = snake, ear = fan, etc.) In the end they realize that they are all right, AND all wrong.

[Shelby Troutman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similar to seven blind mice. The men take turns trying to describe an elephant. In the end they can not agree. The Prince helps them combine their beliefs into one big picture. This is great to show children they must work together sometimes to get the full picture or idea of something.

[Cya]

This book is the retelling of an Indian parable. It can be used to teach the five senses. It can also provide an opportunity to let students experiment with their senses. They can do this with a blindfold and random objects.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can be used to discuss the 5 senses and how important they all are to us. Also, this book highlights teamwork and how important it is to work cooperatively with others. In addition, this book shows the importance of effective communication.

[Rebecca Mullins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very similar to "Seven Blind Mice". It has the same concept, but it deals with blind men instead. This book is about taking all of the parts to make a while. It is also about perception. Everyone thinks differently.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like Seven Blind Mice, but instead of mice the author replaced them with men. I is a good story that has a moralistic ending. I would probably use Seven Blind Mice over this story because I feel like kids/students could relate to tiny mice more than grown men.

[Savannah Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that teaches children to always look at the big picture and not just the small details to figure out what something is. It also teaches them to take in consideration as to what others may perseive something because some things may have more than one answer.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very simple book that teaches kids how to make similes and comparisons. It also teaches that we all must focus on the big picture and not just on our own perspective. The illustrations are colorful and fun as well. I enjoyed it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this with our homeschool group and had a great discussion with the kids about it.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be used to teach the students about their five senses.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book that can be used to teach the five senses. This can be read before the children experience learning about their senses. Cute story line!