Hiya, Whyville! Gnugnu here to introduce the Stone Tree website.

Do you like a good short story? Do you like to write or draw? Have you ever wondered what happened to the woolly mammoth? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Stone Tree website is for you, and I'd love to have you visit at http://www.hopperweb.com/stonetree!

I'm a graduate student at New York University. For my final project, I've been working with four authors aged 7 to 43 to start a story website about Hannah, a 12-year-old girl who discovers a world where every extinct animal species has a representative. No, the animals can't come back to earth - but they can share their stories and adventures with Hannah and the characters of The Stone Tree.

Now that the story has begun, I'd like to extend a personal invitation to Whyvillians to join the fun. Readers are invited to take quick polls about how the story should continue. They are also encouraged to give the author team feedback about what they've read and about how the story should continue. Finally, readers with a desire to draw are encouraged to submit illustrations for the story.

At least, that's what visitors to the website can do now. Over the summer, I'll be adding more features, and I'd also like to hear from Whyvillians about what those features should be. On the website, you'll discover stories, e-mails, and journal entries written by the characters. Would you want to write a character entry? You'll also see an illustration or two. Would you want to see the story illustrated completely with your drawings? Or perhaps you'd like to chat about the story? I'd like to know! So when you visit http://www.hopperweb.com/stonetree and read the story, look out at the end for the Whyvillian survey. Your feedback will help make the site a better place.

Thanks and happy reading!
Gnugnu
Creator of the Stone Tree website
http://www.hopperweb.com/stonetree