RR: If you were Picasso and you wanted to draw a squirrel, would you do it from memory or look at a real squirrel?

Kahleel: From a real squirrel, but people don’t really see squirrels that much. I’ve only seen them like twice.

RR: Really? They’re always in trees. I feel like they follow me.

Kahleel: I know, but I don’t live next to a forest or anything. There’s, like, five trees in my backyard. Usually I see squirrels there, and once I saw a squirrel fly to the other tree.

RR: A flying squirrel? I don’t believe you.

Kahleel: You should because I saw it, and my dad took a picture of it. He flew, and my dad showed me the picture. You kind of can’t see it because his camera was a phone one, but I saw it. So it happened.

Ryan, 7

RR: How do you think these artists knew what the animals looked like?

Ryan: I think they just think it up in their brains. I draw stuff in my brain.

RR: What kind of stuff?

Ryan: What dreams would look like.

RR: Do you like zoos?

Ryan: Yes. I like the apes. Have you seen the movie where the whole planet is filled with apes?

RR: “Planet of the Apes”?