In Harold and the Purple Crayon, the popular children's book by Crockett Johnson (1955), Harold draws his world with a purple crayon. Readers follow his purple marks as he faces a dragon, enjoys a picnic of pies, and takes a ride in a hot air balloon, all under the light of a moon he makes with his crayon. Harold draws us into a world of his own making and allows us to better understand his likes, dislikes, dreams, and fears. The idea that a child's drawings can tell us something about the child and his or her world is not a new one. Years before Harold drew his first moon, the drawings of children were fascinating the researchers who studied them. Early scientists understood children's drawings to be a reflection of the child's personality, intellectual maturity, or emotional development; more recently, researchers have focused on the use of drawings as a means of investigating children's understanding of specific concepts. Despite their continued popularity, the use of children's drawings as reliable and valid sources of data has been questioned in the research literature. Furthermore, the disparate disciplines utilizing children's drawings make it challenging for educators and other professionals working with children to keep up-to-date with best practices. Therefore, the purpose of this review of research is to determine when and how children's drawings can be used effectively to better understand the lives of children. It is guided by three questions: What do we know about children's drawings? What have we learned from drawings that help us better understand children and their worlds? How might drawings be used to inform our efforts in the classroom and other settings?
