Project Description

When Thought is Young:
Reflections on Teaching and the
Poetry of the Child

By Richard Lewis
New Rivers Press, 1992

A series of personal reflections on the emerging poetic consciousness of childhood, illustrated by the author’s daughter and accompanied by children’s writings. Touching upon the beginnings of language, play, and the inward awareness of children, this book is a way of understanding childhood from the vantage point of the phenomena of childhood itself.
72 pages • paperbound • $7.95 • Order Form




I was entranced by this beautiful, thoughtful book which evokes the mystery of child life as few have. The discernment, the delicate fingerings of these reflections brings to us the wellspring of early imagination without hammering home any message, except that of honoring a child’s thought. Yet it has an energy, a sturdiness which carries the author’s intention through these fragile plantings without any sentimentality.  A book for parents, for teachers, for us all to wonder at and enjoy, and muse over.

– Seonaid Robertson, teacher and author of Rosegarden and Labyrinth: A Study in Art Education

A small but profound book about the poetic nature of the young child …..

—Parent and Preschooler Newsletter

An amazing, enchanting and beautifully constructed book, illuminated with children’s poetry and the drawings of Amanda Lewis. From silence as a companion the child reaches out from the inner life of conversation, where it is as important to talk to wind, trees and sun as it is people, and finally reaches the all time magic of play.

—Anne Wright, teacher and author

Parent’s Guide 2002 Classic Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parenting Materials