Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a 2005 anthology of short stories edited by David Sedaris.

[1] Sedaris published this book in order to support 826NYC, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center in Brooklyn, New York.

[2] All of his proceeds, after permission expenses, from Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules will benefit this organization designed to help students ages six to eighteen develop their writing skills through free writing workshops, publishing projects, and one-on-one help with homework and English-language learning.

In the book's epilogue, Sarah Vowell describes 826NYC's work.[promotion?]

The book's title references a painting by Adriaen van der Werff.