Ask Melvin and Heather a Question

Whenever I go somewhere with "Melvin's Balloons" I get asked lots of great questions. I love to try and answer any question I can about Melvin's Balloons, the writing process, or how Melvin came to life. If you have a question for me, or a specific one for Melvin, post it as a comment to this entry and we will try and answer it for you!

Activity # 4

Activity # 4: Write a story for Melvin Moon

1.A lot of great books started out as just good stories told around the campfire, at the dinner table, or in bed at night. Read the “Dedication Page” in Melvin’s Balloons to see how he came to life.

2.Think about a favourite family story you have. It might be a story your parents tell about something you did, a crazy thing a pet did, or something someone told you to make you feel better.

3.Think about how the story makes you feel. Does it make you feel sad, happy, angry, embarrassed, or proud?

4.Imagine yourself telling the story to Melvin Moon. He likes to hear how people feel and what makes them feel the way they do. It doesn’t have to be true or exactly the way it happened. Use your imagination to make it even better.

5.Write down your story so you can tell it the same way again and again.

6.Publish your story as a “comment” to this blog entry -Activity # 4.

Hebbville School Visit

Melvin visited 8 different classes at Hebbville Elementary school last week. As part of their literacy week celebrations they were having "Cuddle Up and Read Day" so Melvin felt very much at home with all the pajamas, stuffed animals, milk and cookies!

The libraian, Mrs Rosborough had things very organized so Heather was able to just go from class to class having fun. Melvin and Heather discovered there are a lot of really great writers at Hebbville and a million wonderful ideas! Heather was very impressed with how important books are to Hebbville and how much work has been done on the writing process.

Heather and Melvin were given some wonderful drawings that have become very special treasures- thank you! And Heather got some hugs too!!

You can search through this blog to find the activities that Heather left with the teachers. Feel free to post a comment or ask a question!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Full Moon Creativity

It's a full moon tonight so Melvin will be shining bright. According to astrology it's a full moon in Cancer and that means people often feel more creative than usual. It's a good time to link to your orange colors and create a new story or a picture. Today is a good day to color a balloon for Melvin and hang it in your window so he can see it tonight while he's signing full and bright. Don't forget to tell him why you picked the color you did!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon

Meteor Shower

Melvin is very thankful for all the red balloons people have sent him! Last night was quite a meteor shower and he wasn’t scared at all! Melvin was in a New Moon phase so he wasn’t shining as brightly and that meant Heather could see the meteors better.

Most meteor showers happen when Earth runs into large clouds of particles left behind from comets, but no one is really quite sure what the parent object was for the Quadrantids (pronounced Kwa-drun-tids) that we saw last night. Some scientists think the source of these meteors may be from a comet that broke apart during a collision over 500 year ago. Melvin doesn’t remember the incident but he’s very thankful you have helped him get over his fears!

Sincerely,

Melvin Moon