• Stories that have a message, but more than just a message.

• Stories that model effective ways of thinking and perceiving (as distinct from what to think or perceive!), arts and skills which, in our society's childraising and education, have been neglected or taken for granted.

• Stories that, like the "Philosopher's Stone," make an important moral point in an active, adventurous and entertaining way.

• Stories that weave into the plot some of the problem-solving and creativity methods taught by Project Renaissance, adapted for the comprehension level of children ages three and up.

• Stories which teach entertainingly but meaningfully the key understandings from general systems theory, chaos (complexity) theory, Korzybsky's general semantics (especially the concepts revolving around the map not being the territory), other such special content that's invaluable but not conventionally taught in schools.

Children have a wonderful capacity for creating and imagining, and their minds are ready for conceptual activities at a far younger age than you might expect.

Stories are a natural medium for children's minds to receive and work with situations they will meet in life, and stories can contain the tools for how children will use their minds to cope with such situations.

Children think in visual images far more richly than grown-ups do, because it's the natural way for the brain to work before other modes are instilled. Metaphor, allegory, analogy are directly perceived. Children's minds are as yet unlimited in their versatility.

Our concern is in preserving that capacity, before it is trained out of them by the schools' need for uniformity and society's need for conformity.

Our ever more complex world will require the best and most ingenious problem-solving minds among us. It begins with the children.

Each new generation gives us the hope of a new beginning, a new breakthrough to resolve the problems that have plagued mankind for eons. Every mind counts, every mind is a precious resource.

We want this Childwrite project to become a useful reference point for all who are concerned with the thinking and perceptual skills of children, as well as to be an entertainment for the children themselves.

◆   Parents — Have you made up stories for your children that the kids can't get enough of, that they request to hear again and again? Would you share them with others and let us publish them?

◆   Teachers — Do you ever assign creative writing to your students and have them come up with stories that amaze and delight you? Give us a chance to see these and possibly publish them here.

◆   Children — Do you like to make up stories? We're looking to publish the best of these, especially if they are about solving a problem and finding a happy ending. Use your imagination and send us your most interesting stories.

◆   Writers — We warmly invite you to join this program of Project Renaissance, as well as others who are helping in its development. Inquire to Win Wenger