The Power of Words: Turning Children's Art into Poems and Stories

Every HeARTfolio has two authors: the child who drew the picture, and the volunteer who found its words. This post is about that second, quieter craft — and how our young writers learn it.

Listening to a drawing

When a new drawing arrives, our volunteers are trained to ask the paper three questions before writing a single line:

1. What is literally here? A boat. Big waves. A sun half-out of a cloud.
2. What is the feeling underneath? Smallness against something large; effort; a hope of arriving.
3. What does the child say about it? Always the most important. When the artist of The Brave Little Boat said the waves were her "worry days", the poem was already half-written.

The rule is: the poem must belong to the child, not the poet. Volunteers resist the urge to be clever. Simple rhymes, short lines, the child's own words wherever possible.

The give-back moment

The finished poem is read aloud to the child — ideally by the volunteer, sitting beside the drawing. We call this the give-back, and it's the emotional centre of everything HeARTscribe does. Watch closely and you'll see the child look from poem to drawing and back, doing the maths: my feelings were worth writing about.

For a child who has been bullied, that maths is revolutionary.

For our volunteer writers

If you're a writer, poet or artist aged 14+ thinking about joining us, here's what the work actually asks of you:

• Patience — some children talk for ten minutes about one corner of a drawing. That corner is the poem.
• Restraint — your job is a mirror, not a megaphone. The best HeARTscribe poems sound like the child on their best-understood day.
• Reliability — a promised poem must always arrive. Children who've been let down are keeping score, even when they smile.

In return you get the give-back moment, which — our volunteers all say the same thing — you will think about for weeks.

Start with one drawing

Parents, try this tonight: ask your child about any drawing on your fridge. Ask what the sky in it feels like. Then write four honest lines about the answer and read them back. You'll see what we mean.

Ready to write with us? Volunteer with HeARTscribe — writers, poets and artists aged 14+ are always welcome.