This essay, part of a Collection called The Child’s Mind that ran in the April 1978 issue of Harper’s Magazine, was accompanied by It Must Be, a series of illustrations by Maurice Sendak.

listening to small stories

We have all grown used to the idea that we should tell stories to children. We are not so well acquainted with the idea that we should listen to the stories children tell us. When we do hear stories by two-, three-, and four-year-olds, we often fail to understand them or to enjoy their plotless nature. Yet these stories are highly…