The Wood Sprite is a magical creature of the forest, appearing now and then to remind us of all of the good things in the world. Our wood sprite page offers quarterly contests and bits o' luck. Try your hand at our first contest, 'A Sense of Wonder', and win fame and treasure from Garden Plum!

Above: Puddlegum, from 'The Silver Chair', in The Chronicles of Narnia by the globally acclaimed author, C.S. Lewis.

Some adults think that kids don't know what wonder is. What they don't understand is that 'wonder' is the key ingredient in being a kid!

Do you know what it is to feel the emotion 'wonder'? Submit your essay, painting, art, poem, or writing that demonstrates what you think 'A Sense of Wonder' is. Lets see if we can show adults that we really do know what it is.

If you have trouble getting started, look up the definition of the word 'wonder' in the dictionary, and try making sentences with it. See what comes from your mind.

Contest Rules
You must be between the ages of 7 and 12. Only one entry per person. There are no limitations on content, after all, wonder can be very big or very very tiny! Entries must be received by midnight on December 31st, 2004. Winners will be announced on January 10, 2005.

How to Enter
Please submit your entries by e-mail or regular mail. Entries can be submitted in the body of an e-mail, or they can be submitted as an attachment. The attachment can be a Microsoft Word .doc, a text file (.txt), or a graphic file (.jpg or .gif). Submit your entries via e-mail at wonder@gardenplum.com, or send it by regular mail to:

ATTN: The Wondering Plum
Garden Plum Enterprises
630 Reservoir Dr.
Weare, NH 03281.

Winnings
There will be two awards, the first will be 'Joyous Hootus', and the other will be 'Simply and Profoundly Astounding'.

Joyous Hootus
The Joyous Hootus Award will go to the entry that takes a great amount of imagination and creative thinking. It will also be judged by the process that was taken to create your entry. Get out your creative thinking caps and make it WONDERful!

The winner will receive a Princess Frog hand puppet so you can tell wonderful tales from your exceptional imagination. Your entry will also be posted and featured on this web site, with your parents' permission.

Simply and Profoundly Astounding
The Simply and Profoundly Astounding award will go to the entry that is so profound, that an adult wouldn't even think of it! That may sound a little scary - lets explain this a little further. Adults can be a little boring sometimes. They aren't always thinking about fanciful things, magical tales, or childhood fancies. It might be fun to 'astound' the adults and make them remember what it was like when they were kids!

The winner will receive Kris Waldherr's hardcover book, 'Harvest'. In this book, a young girl revels in wonder at the earth's ability to create a harvest. Your entry will also be posted and you will be featured on the web site, with your parents' permission.

Thought Spot - Information for parents
"I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength. It is more important to pave the way for children to want to know than to put them on a diet of facts they are not ready to assimilate."

      -Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

YOU FOUND A TREASURE! Place your mouse over the chest to see your treasure.

"Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." --Roald Dahl