New Year's Eve Celebrations

Melvin is getting ready for New Year's Eve celebrations. He's happy to ring in the start of 2011. Now that Winter Solstice has passed and the days are getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere, he is getting a bit more sleep so he's feeling rested.

Melvin likes watching how excited everyone is by the fireworks displays on New Year's Eve and of course he loves the colors, but sometimes it's a little scary for him too.

Instead of fireworks this year, Heather is going to release a balloon for Melvin on New Year's Eve. I wonder what color it will be?

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Melvin's Favorite Poem: T'was the Night Before Christmas

The following poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. See if you can figure out why it is Melvin's favorite. If you have it figured out- write your answer as a comment.

Twas the Night Before Christmas,

by Clement Clarke Moore

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Merry Christmas!!

Melvin Moon

Winter Solstice and Lunar Eclipse

Tuesday December 21st, is a special night for Melvin Moon. It's a Full Moon, Winter Solstice, and an Lunar Eclipse. These events have not occurred together very often. The last time they did was over 400 years ago!

A Full Moon always feels special to Melvin. He feels more powerful on those nights and gives us more light during the night.

Winter Solstice is special because it is the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This means Melvin has more "air time" than the sun! So to be full during his longest night is extra special.

A Lunar eclipse means that for a little over an hour, if you look up at the sky the shadow of the earth will block out Melvin and instead you'll see kind of a reddish glow. This might feel a wee bit scary to Melvin so he's grateful for all your red balloons!

There might even be a bit of a meteor shower thrown in there as well. And if you've read Melvin's Balloons, you know how he feels about meteor showers!

If you haven't read Melvin's Balloons- you should go to www.brylerpublications.com or pick up a copy at your local bookstore or on Chapters on-line. With all this going on, you better do it before Tuesday!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Despicable Me: A Melvin Moon Movie Review

Melvin likes anything to do with the moon- feels flattering to him, so he liked the movie "Despicable Me'. He saw the movie in the summer but once again had to wait for Heather to get caught up so she would write about it for him! He likes the idea of someone wanting to steal the moon. He isn't worried at all though! Melvin feels pretty secure in his position in the universe. He liked the little yellow guy that was filled with helium- just like a balloon, that little guy in the movie floated up to Melvin. Looked a lot like the yellow balloons in Melvin's Balloons- and full of yellow energy too!

Thanks for thinking of me!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Chester District School

Melvin visited Chester District School this morning. Chester is on the ocean so Melvin has been working on the tides around there! Heather saw some very interesting art work on display at the school and lots of Christmas decorations. It was a really rainy and super windy morning- just the right kind of day to be snuggled down with a good book.

Heather read Melvin's letter to Mrs. Griffith's Grade 4 class. Melvin loves it when people listen to his story! Everyone in the class had excellent questions for Heather.

The class made both Heather and Melvin feel very good this morning! Thanks for the green balloon feeling!!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

White Snowflakes!

Melvin has been seeing some white snowflakes for quite awhile now, but sometimes he has to wait for Heather to get caught up with him! Today she has finally seen a bit of snow so is writing this entry for him.

Melvin loves the way snow gently blankets the ground. The fresh clean whiteness of it all makes Melvin feel very peaceful, just like when he gets white balloons. Melvin thinks is the quiet peace of snow that makes people hope they get a white Christmas.

But thanks to your balloons, Melvin knows the feelings of white, peacefulness, and being connected to everything actually come from within and you don't need snow to have that feeling.

Melvin sends the feeling of peace right back down to you whether you have snow or not!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Melvin Discovers Moon Dough!

Melvin is very excited to discover something called "Moon Dough". He thinks this would be a wonderful way to make model "Melvin's" and the refill dough even comes in a Crescent Moon shape. Of course Melvin likes the colors of the dough too.

Melvin happens to know that Moon Dough is on a lot of Christmas lists this year and in some letters to Santa.

If you want to include Melvin's Balloon story with your Moon Dough gift, you can find Melvin in local bookstores, Chapters (in the store or on line) or order directly through Melvin's publisher at www.brylerpublications.com.

You can also go to Heather's website at www.pixiedusthealing.com to find out more about Melvin's Balloons or order a copy.

Melvin feels very popular these days!

Sincerely,


Melvin Moon

Melvin in Chapters

Melvin is excited to announce he is now is Chapters, Indigo and Coles bookstores as well as a lot of independent book stores throughout the Maritimes. Heather will be doing book signings for Melvin in Chapters stores in January. He has been included in the "Atlantic Canadian Books for the Holidays" guide as well so any book store can order Melvin in for you.

Of course you can still get me directly from the publisher at www.brylerpublications.com

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Christmas Colors

Melvin is feeling quite excited inside! He is suddenly seeing Christmas stuff everywhere and he feels the excitement. Melvin loves all the green and red colors that symbolize Christmas. The red makes him feel safe and secure and the green makes him feel love. Together the two colors make Melvin feel confident that he is loved by everyone!

What a loving time of year!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Rememberance Day

It's Remembrance Day in Canada and Melvin just wants to say that he sees all your red poppies and feels the emotions. Melvin thinks the red poppy really symbolizes a sense of safety and security and that for many people, and in many times, people who have worked to protect their country have helped provide that sense of safety and security for others.

Melvin particularly likes the white symbols of Remembrance Day - the white doves in particular, because white represents peace.

So it's a sense of peace Melvin shines back down on everyone.

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

New Friends

Melvin made some special new friends over the weekend. Heather went to Pier 22 in Halifax to sign books while the Queen Mary 2 ship was in dock.

Along came 2 year old Jasmine in her stroller. She really wasn't that happy to be in her stroller and maybe was a bit tired of shopping. So while her parents were looking at books, Jasmine let Heather read Melvin's Balloons to her. She sat still as anything through the entire book. She liked the coyote (wolf to her) and once again, the purple page! When Heather finished reading it, Jasmine said "Read again"!! Made our day! Her parents promised to read Melvin's Balloons to her again that night before bed. So when Jasmine gets home to Portsmith England Melvin will be with her.

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! I'll be beaming down on you to light your way. It's a good thing I got all those yellow balloons!

Look up at me and give me a howl! Stay safe.



Love

Melvin Moon

Activity # 3

Activity # 3: Write a book review for Melvin Moon

1. Read Melvin’s Balloons.

2. Write 1 or 2 sentences about how the book made you feel or what you think about the book.

3. Log on to Melvin’s Balloons on the Chapter’s website
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Melvins-Balloons-Heather-MacKenzie-Carey-Adam-Murray/9780981381947-item.html?ikwid=bryler+publications&ikwsec=Home&cookieCheck=1

4. Click into “Customer Review” and type in your book review.

5. You can also type your review here as a "comment".

Melvin loves to hear from you!

Melvin Goes to Waldorf

Melvin and Heather went to the Kindergarten class at the South Shore Waldorf school. It was a great experience.

Melvin really liked the colors that are everywhere in the school. We talked a lot about colors and favorite ones. There were some pretty special blankets there in wonderful colors! Seems like a lot of people have favorite blankets that are white or have white in them- maybe because white can be so peaceful. We talked about pink too- a nice combination of security and peace. The favorite picture was the purple one again! Melvin liked the sense of calm and peace he felt at Waldorf as well as the connection to nature.

We also talked about Halloween! Melvin heard about some very interesting costumes- he can't wait to see them! He is looking forward to the mouse, the zombie and the witches as well as the ones that will be a surprise! The kids asked Heather to read their Halloween poem with them too and that made Heather feel very special!

Thanks Waldorf!

Melvin Moon

Melvin Howls!

Melvin loves full moon nights and last night was the Hunter's moon. It's a full moon that occurs in the autumn (usually October but sometimes November). During a Hunter's moon, Melvin rises further north along the eastern horizon for several nights in a row. This means we will have dusk to dawn moonlight for the next several days.

Lots of time for coyotes to howl and Melvin, and thanks to your blue balloons- Melvin will be singing right back at them!

Melvin Moon

Cruise Ships

Melvin went to visit the people coming off the cruise ships in Halifax yesterday. He met a lot of people! Melvin's Balloons is now in a lot of suitcases going to exciting places all over the world- lots of places in the United States, like Florida, California, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York, He is also on his way to places in Canada as well- British Columbia and Ontario. Melvin is going to make a lot of grandchildren really happy! Heather talked to some teachers, some therapy workers, and yoga instructors about Melvin as well. Some of them are going to use Melvin's Balloons in their classes or with their clients. Melvin is happy about that.

Heather heard a lot of very interesting, and many touching stories about lost or released balloons as well. We love hearing your stories.

A special thanks to Michel and Yolanda from Carrefore Atlantic for setting up the kiosk and letting Heather sign Melvin's Balloons books. They have a lot of wonderful books and local artwork and crafts as well. Thanks to Kathleen for organizing as well! We had a fun day!

Melvin in Chapters

Yippee!

Melvin's Balloons is now available in Chapters, including the on-line store.

Melvin feels good to be "getting out in the world" and this is a big step. You can still order Melvin directly through the publisher at http://www.brylerpublications.com/ but he is also available now through www.chapters.ca

Send a Letter to Melvin

Melvin Moon will be full in a couple of days and of course he is getting ready for Halloween too!

As you all know if you've read Melvin's Balloons, Melvin likes to send letters. What you might not know is that he also likes to receive letters!

When Heather takes Melvin's Balloons to school groups, this is one of the activities she brings with her.

Activity # 2: Send a Letter to Melvin Moon
1.Color a balloon shape on a piece of white paper, or trace a balloon shape on a piece of construction paper and cut it out.
2.Write a letter to Melvin telling him why you picked the color you did.
3.Cut out your letter and glue it on your balloon.
4.Glue a piece of yarn, string or ribbon to your balloon and place it on display! You might want to put your balloon in your window so Melvin can see it easily!

You can also send letters to Melvin through Heather. Add your letter as a comment to this blog or send Heather an email.

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Special Balloons

Melvin received some very special balloons. All 33 trapped Chilean miners were safely rescued last night. As part of the celebration, they released helium balloons! They were red, white and blue with the Chilean flag on them. Melvin was very glad to receive these balloons. As well as being the colors of their flag, Melvin sees the red as signifying safety and security now that everyone is back on ground level; white for the peace this has brought to all the miners, their families and to many around the world that watched the rescue efforts; and blue for the fact that the whole world is singing in expression of the success!

Melvin now feels connected to the rescue mission and says "thank you".

Melvin Moon

Millwood Elementary

Melvin went to Millwood Elementary School in Sackville on October 12th. Heather read Melvin's Balloons to 5 different groups- 9 classes in all! The classes ranged from Primary to Grade 3. Melvin had a great time! All the students were very nice to Melvin. Everyone sat quietly to listen and there great questions and some good stories too! Seems like lots of people in Sackville have lost balloons before so they really understood Melvin's letter.

Heather was really thankful to be given a map of the school with directions for each classroom, a schedule of visits, a cup of tea at recess, and a beautiful green Millwood Elementary School pen to take home! Melvin thinks Heather might be able to write another store with that pen.

We talked about the fact that some colors are a combination of the primary colors. Pink is a combination of red and white, so pink might help you feel peacefully secure. Pink can be very special as it helps connect the first and seventh chakras. In one of the classes we talked about the color brown. Heather wasn't sure what primary colors made brown although we had a lot of guesses! In another class the teacher found a book that answered the question. Turns out brown is a combination of blue, yellow, and red- so lots of emotions in that color! Thanks to the teacher for remembering about that book, and thanks to the power of books for helping us learn.

The only thing that didn't work well was the picture Heather tried to take of the school. Oops! If someone wants to send Heather a picture that we can post we will.

Thanks to everyone at Millwood and a special thanks to our friend Mrs Kelly for setting it all up.

Green Balloons to everyone!

Melvin Moon

Activity for Melvin

Melvin is so excited about colors now that he likes to share his excitement by giving you ideas for activities to do. Here's one Melvin suggests:

Color a balloon for Melvin Moon

1. Draw a balloon shape (just a big circle) on a piece of paper.
2. Color the balloon a color that feels good to you. You can also cut out a balloon shape from a piece of colored construction paper.
3. Print your name on the balloon so Melvin knows who it is from.
4. Add a string or ribbon to your balloon.
5. Put your balloon on the window so Melvin can see it!

If you need more information about Melvin or you'd like Heather to bring Melvin's Balloons to your school or group, check out Heather's website at www.pixiedusthealing.com

Melvin Travels to Tancook Island

Melvin's Balloons is starting to get "out there in the world". Heather is doing a number of author visits in schools.

Melvin road the ferry over to Tancook Island last month and had fun at the school. All the grades on Tancook are in one classroom. There are 8 students in the whole school and 1 teacher! Melvin feels very free and peaceful on Tancook. The picture is taken from the ferry (where Melvin's Balloons) was sitting, just waiting to dock. On the way back home on the ferry, Melvin saw some of the students fishing off the wharf and they were catching big fish!! There are lots of bright colors on the houses on Tancook and Melvin likes that too. He was glad the water was calm though because he thinks big waves might have been as scary as shooting stars!

Stay tuned for Melvin's travels, activites, ideas and an updated blog!!

To book a author visit for your school contact Heather through her website www.pixiedusthealing.com

To order your own copy of Melvin's Balloons check in local bookstores or order online from www.brylerpubications.com

Melvin Moon via Heather

Look for the latest information on Melvin's Balloons. Writing the book was easy- the blogging- not so much!