This volume documents the research journey of the project Mapping: A map for the aesthetics of performing arts for very young ages. In this multifaceted work, conducted over five years, researchers, professional artists, illustrators, and program managers from twenty-two countries and five continents participated. Together, they attempt to "map" the aesthetic perception of children from zero to six years old.

The research for this book began with questions, which were reformulated and clarified during the tumultuous period of the program's implementation. The core of the book consists of essays that address 24 questions and focus on the four pillars of the performing arts: image, movement, word, and sound. The discussion of the questions is not meant to provide a definitive answer - in this sense, the essays can be regarded as observations and explorations.

However, this research volume, as it is the first documentation of a project of such scale and scope, serves as an invaluable resource for any researcher and artist interested in producing art and reflecting on the value of art for early childhood.

Roberto Frabetti, founder of the renowned children's theater La Baracca – Testoni Raggazzi in Bologna, actor, director, and program manager of Mapping, writes in the preface of the book: "I believe it is our political duty to ensure that children know and feel that we will always listen to them, both to themselves and to their 'diversity,' that we will always care about them and that we will never stop observing them to understand yet another fragment of their emotional and cognitive complexity."

The publication was carried out within the framework of the European program Mapping. A map on the aesthetics of performing arts for early years, with the support of Creative Europe, EU Culture sub-program, and the theatrical group Artika Urban Cultural Non-Profit Company.