What Children Know

The subject of these five essays is the literary and visual art of children. The essays explore two propositions: first that children’s stories, poems and meditations, their drawings, paintings, and models, may legitimately be described as works of art; and second that to acknowledge the artistic status of children’s works revolutionizes the process of education. The book is dedicated to the children and teachers of Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the author has spent a few weeks every year since 2004 as a participant observer in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. Designed and produced by Julie Bernson.