Houses of Herons and other Bayou City Scenes

15 minutes

all around town

From Lanier Middle School to Lanier Middle School

There are worlds accessible—whether by trap door or rabbit hole—only to the young. These recordings by Lanier Middle School students remind us of this. You can bet the Houston you’ll find here—one where monkeys dangle from live oaks, castles rise from the end of cul-de-sacs and penguins dance on street corners—is one you’ve failed to notice.

These seventh graders mapped their neighborhoods as part of a Spring 2012 Writers in the Schools residency. They plotted not only streets and local landmarks but personal memories of biking home from school, running the Rice trail loop or walking to a friend’s house to pass the long summer hours. Most of us are unable to enter these worlds on our own—adult concerns and responsibilities bar our entrance. Fortunately, we have these young storytellers to serve as our guides and to remind us, as poets and children will, to notice.

Vishnu

Zoë

Madeline

Phillip

Megan

Jordan