Liam, 11, Burundi, Africa

Our colleagues at The Times’s City Room blog have a new feature called Kids Draw the News, where they assign the 12-and-unders in the audience a current article about New York City to illustrate, and post the results in a slide show. The first two assignments — a brawl at an elite athletic club and an episode in which a heckler called New York’s mayor Michael R. Bloomberg “Pharaoh Bloomberg” — drew responses from as far off as Africa.

This week’s Kids Draw the News assignment is “The Manhole Cover Mystery.” All over New York City, men, some of them dressed as utility workers, have been stealing manhole covers, which can weigh as much as 300 pounds. The people at the utility company, Consolidated Edison, think the thieves are selling the covers to scrap-metal yards, but they’re not sure. Here is the full article about the manhole cover thefts.

So if you’re 12 or under yourself, or know someone who is, spread the word about “Kids Draw the News” — and submit your drawing here.