02. Elfie, Second Edition (novel .pdf printable)

Authors

• Matthew Lipman, Montclair State University

Files

ISBN

978-1-964465-05-0

Target Grades

Elementary School

Publication Date

2026

Publisher

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children

Number of Pages

61

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Summary

Elfie is in the first grade and is so shy she can’t speak in class and can hardly even formulate a question. Yet little escapes her and her mind puzzles over everything that happens in class and at home. When the principal proposes a contest aimed at improving reasoning, her whole class is caught up in figuring out how sentences work and how distinctions and connections are made. At the same time, Elfie and her classmates discover many distinctions fundamental to inquiry: appearance and reality, the one and the many, parts and wholes, similarity and difference, permanence and change.

Excerpt

This morning, in class, Seth said, “Elfie hardly ever talks. It’s like she’s not for real!”

That shows how wrong he can be! Maybe I don’t talk much, but I think all the time. I even think when I sleep.

Last night, I was in my bed, and I said to myself, “Elfie, are you asleep?” I touched my eyes, and they were open, so I said, “No, I’m not asleep.”

Suddenly, I thought, “That can be wrong. Maybe a person could sleep with her eyes open.”

Then I said to myself, “Right now, Elfie, you’re wondering, and since you’re wondering, you must be thinking! And if you’re thinking then, no matter what Seth says, you’re for real!”

Translations

• Finnish translation (Finland): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (1995) Elfie: pohdimme yhdessä [Elfie: we wonder together]. Translated and edited by Hannu Juuso, Auli Siitonen, and Markku Veteläinen. Helsinki, Finland: Painatuskeskus.
• French translation (Québec, Canada): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard [Need date and translator] Elfie. Cité Universitaire, Québec, Canada: Association québécoise de Philosophie pour enfants, Faculté de Philosophie, Université Laval. ISBN 978656728. Available for purchase here.
• Italian translation (Italy): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2015) Elfie. Translated and adapted by Maura Striano. Naples, Italy: Liguori Editore. ISBN 9788820728748. Available for purchase here.
• Korean translation (ROK): Lipman, Matthew (1994) 엘피 의 생각 들 [Elfie’s Thoughts]. Translated by 송 광영 [Song Kwang-Yŏng]. [Publisher not identified.]
• Persian/Farsi translation (Iran): Lipman, Matthew (2017 & 2018 / 1395 & 1396) Elfie. Translated by فاطمه یونسی (Fatemeh Younesi) and شیوا شفائی (Shiva Shafaie). Tehran, Iran: حکمت سینا، کتاب¬های ستاره (Hekmate-Sina; Ketabhaye Setareh).
• Persian/Farsi translation (Iran): Lipman, Matthew (2020/1399) الفی: استدلال درباره ی تفکر [Alfi: Argument about thinking]. Translated by فاطمه رنجبران (Fatemeh Ranjbaran) and مارینا فرهودی‌زاده (Marina Farhoodizadeh) Tehran, Iran: انتشارات شهرتاش (Shahrtash Educational Publishing). ISBN 978-964-8282-85-6. Available for purchase here.
• Romanian (1993): Sînziana. Trans. and adapted Veronica Focșeneanu and Doina-Olga Ștefănescu. Bucharest: Humanitas.
• Spanish translation (Mexico): Lipman, Matthew (1995) Elfie. Translated and adapted by Claudia Hernández de Ponce de León and Eugenio Echeverría. Chiapas, Mexico: Centro Latinoamericano de Filosofia para Niños. ISBN 9786078301218. Available for purchase here.
• Spanish translation (Spain): Lipman, Matthew (2000) Elfie. Translated and adapted by Pilar Pedraza Moreno. Madrid, Spain: Ediciones de la Torre. ISBN 9788479602864, 9788479604950. Available for purchase here.
• Ukrainian translation (Ukraine): Lipman, Matthew (2002) ЛІЛЯ Книга для читання [Lilya A Novel]. Translated by Н.О. Колтко [N.О. Koltko]. Edited by B.K. Романцевич [V.K. Romantsevich]. Forward by by Н.О. Колтко [N.О. Koltko] and B.K. Романцевич [V.K. Romantsevich]. Kirovograd, UA: Кіровоградський державний педагогічний університет імені Володимира Винниченка [Kirovograd Volodymyr Vynnychenko State Pedagogical University].

Keywords

appearance/reality, connections, distinctions, elementary education, reasoning, one/many, part/whole, permanence/change, philosophy for children, similar/different

Disciplines

Education | Philosophy

Published Reviews and Research

• Hall, Darcy (2002) Is Elfie a Human or a Rabbit? Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 16(1): 49-50.
• Hamrick, William S. (1989) Teaching Elfie. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(2): 9-11.
• Hamrick, William S. (1991) Phenomenology and the Philosophy for Children Program. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 9(2): 9-12.
• Lardner, A.T. (1989) Some Notes on P4C in Ecuador: On Working with the Elfie Program. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(3): 15-17.
• McCall, Catherine (1989) Young Children Generate Philosophical Ideas. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(2): 22-41.
• Melville, Mary E. (1990) William James and the Nature of Thinking: A Framework for Elfie. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 9(1): 32-34.
• Murris, Karin (2000) The Role of the Facilitator in Philosophical Inquiry. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 15(2): 42-48.
• Redshaw, Sarah (1994) Body Knowledge. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 11(3/4): 11-16.
• Silver, Ruth E. (1989) A Second Grade Class Thinks About Making Choices. Analytic Teaching 10(1): 7-9.
• Tsuchiyama, Elaine (2004) Learning from Children: A Philosophical Journey. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 17(1/2): 50-53.

Recommended Citation

Lipman, Matthew (2003/2026) Elfie, Second Edition. Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.