Understanding Children's Drawings

“In its drawings, the child describes for us different conditions of consciousness, which are parallel with those of cultural epochs.” —Michaela Strauss

It is not uncommon for children’s drawings to end up in the wastepaper basket. Yet these early artistic expressions indicate how children communicate with their environment. From the first scratches and scribbles to the detailed sketches of houses and people, the drawings and paintings of our children are significant manifestations of their inner processes and contain important statements about their development and gradual incarnation into a physical body.

Michaela Strauss’s classic work is a pioneer study that can strengthen observation, understanding and love for the being of the child, both in the home and the kindergarten.

First issued in 1978, it is republished here with revisions, improved reproductions, a larger format, and more than 40 pages of color illustrations.