A wonderful insight into a unique approach to understanding the development of individual children, illustrated with over 50 drawings.

Young children usually love to draw. Their work multiplies on scraps of paper, on walls, and on refrigerator doors. In this book Christhilde Blume, an experienced paediatrician, explores what parents and educators can learn about children's development through the pictures they create.

Rudolf Steiner described children's development in detail, and showed how development is universal, irrespective of location and culture. Inspired by the work of Michaela Strauss in the 1940s who discovered that certain drawn shapes were linked to specific stages of development, Dr Blume confirms this to be true from her study of hundreds of drawings and paintings collected through her medical clinic.

Children's drawings change as their soul and spirit gradually incarnate in their physical body, and alongside the growth of consciousness. Adults can learn to 'read' from the pictures what is happening in a child's inner self, physically, psychologically and spiritually.

Dr Blume used these insights in her medical work, helping children who were experiencing difficulties or challenges in their lives. This little book is a wonderful insight into this unique approach to understanding the development of individual children.