Now I Am Six

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When I was One, 
I had just begun. 
When I was Two, 
I was nearly new. 
When I was Three, 
I was hardly Me. 
When I was Four, 
I was not much more. 
When I was Five, 
I was just alive. 
But now I am Six, 
I'm as clever as clever. 
So I think I'll be Six 
Now and forever and ever. 

~ A. A. Milne 

Tomorrow is my son Nick's birthday. He's a *bit* older than six now -- eleven years older -- but I'm sharing this poem in honor of his special day....

The Birthday Child

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The Birthday Child

Everything's been different
   All the day long,
Lovely things have happened,
   Nothing has gone wrong.

Nobody has scolded me,
   Everyone has smiled.
Isn't it delicious
   To be a birthday child?

~ Rose Fyleman

Today is my youngest son Ben's tenth birthday. Wow. I can't believe a whole decade has gone by since he was born! Where did the time go?

Birthdays were always so exciting when I was growing up.  I remember waking up early on my birthday each year, ready to jump out of bed and start my special day! I love Ms. Fyleman's last line: "Isn't it delicious to be a birthday child?"

My dear Benjamin, I hope you have a delicious day!

Happy Birthday to Me?

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Happy Birthday to Me?

I was born in May.
Or June, perhaps.
It might have been
November.
The truth is,
I was very young;
I simply
don't remember.

~ Alan Katz

This poem makes me laugh!  I thought it was a perfect one to share on my birthday.  Hope you all have a wonderful day!  (Hope I do, too.)

(Psst... if you haven't heard about the "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest yet, you can find all the details here.)

A Happy Birthday

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An excerpt:

     "You ought to write 'A Happy Birthday' on it."

     "That was what I wanted to ask you," said Pooh.  "Because my spelling is Wobbly.  It's good spelling but it Wobbles and the letters get in the wrong places.  Would you write 'A Happy Birthday' on it for me?"

[...]

     So Owl wrote... and this is what he wrote:

HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY.

     Pooh looked on admiringly.

     "I'm just saying 'A Happy Birthday,'" said Owl carelessly.

     "It's a nice long one," said Pooh, very much impressed by it.

     "Well, actually, of course, I'm saying 'A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh.'  Naturally it takes a good deal of pencil to say a long thing like that."

     "Oh, I see," said Pooh.

~ from Winnie-the-Pooh,

written by A. A. Milne

It's birthday week at our house -- my husband's birthday tomorrow and mine on Thursday.  (And then Blue Sky, Big Dreams's next Monday!)  In honor of all these birthdays, I thought I'd share this passage from Pooh.  It always makes me smile -- hope it will do the same for you! :)

(Psst... if you haven't heard about the "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest yet, you can find all the details here.)

Never too old...

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"You are never too old 

to set another goal 

or dream another dream."

~ C. S. Lewis

My birthday is coming up this week -- I will be 45 on Thursday.  (Gulp.)  Imagine my delight at the beginning of this month when I turned the page in my Mary Engelbreit calendar and saw the quote above.  It felt like a message meant just for me!

My writing goals and dreams have been put on hold for most of 2013 so far.  Life got busier than ever for several months, and then even after things calmed down a bit, I've still been having trouble making the time to write.  Part of that has to do with working on some other goals unrelated to writing; those goals take time, too.  I think the rest of it has to do more with my own insecurities, though, and fear of failure.  

I worked really hard on writing last year.  I wrote over a hundred poems, I think, plus some short stories, and I started on a new novel.  I also submitted my work to dozens of magazines, publishers, and agents -- only to be turned down by every single one.  My head KNOWS that I just have to keep trying.  My heart, on the other hand, is tired of being bruised and wants a little break from rejection.

I originally intended to set new writing goals in January, for the new year ahead, and then share them here.  That never happened.  I was beginning to give up on 2013, thinking it would be completely unproductive, even with six whole months left in which to accomplish great things.  But then along came C.S. Lewis and Mary Engelbreit, to remind me that it's never too late -- not even when I'm turning 45 and the year's half over -- to set another goal.

So, here are my goals for the remainder of 2013:

1. Carve out time every week (if not every day!) to write
2. Finish my latest novel
3. Write at least 30 poems ~ that's only five per month
4. Start working on the new book I've been thinking about for several months now
5. Keep looking for an agent
6. Send out at least 2 submissions per month
7. Don't give up!

I hope that everyone reading this will take C. S. Lewis's quote to heart.  You're never too old.  (Or too young.)  Set new goals.  Dream new dreams.  Dream BIG dreams.  And then work to make them come true.

(Psst... if you haven't heard about the "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest yet, you can find all the details here.)

"Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest

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I can't believe that it's June already -- is this year flying by or what?  Around our house, June means birthday time!  Not only is it my birthday later this month, it is also my husband's, my mother-in-law's, and my brother-in-law's.  It is also the birthday of Blue Sky, Big Dreams!  I launched this blog almost two years ago, on June 17, 2011.  Yes, it's true; "Blue..." is two.

Since that first day, I've shared 657 posts (including this one!) with you, my fellow BookWyrms.  This blog now gets around 3000 hits per month, more than triple the amount from a year ago!  (In a post from last year's birthday celebration, I wrote that I could only dream about having 1500 visitors to the blog in a single month.  See... dreams really do come true!)

I still don't get very many comments here or on my Blue Sky, Big Dreams Blog Facebook page the way I would like to -- if you don't count all the spam, that is!  (That's what I get for allowing anonymous comments, I guess, but I still stand by that decision.)  I'm not really sure how to increase the number of real (not spam) comments, but please know that I always LOVE to hear from my readers.  Feel free to comment any time!

Last year's Birthday Contest was a big success and a lot of fun!  I want to celebrate this blog's second birthday with some more fun and another contest.  How about you? :)

Throughout the month of June, I will be collecting the names of my blog readers and putting them in this bowl:

Like last year, some of your names are already there!*

Every Friday I will draw one name from the bowl.  The lucky winner each week will receive a $10 e-gift card from Barnes & Noble (which can be used online or at an actual store). Then, on the 30th, I will draw one last name.  (Edited on June 27th: When I originally posted this, I had no idea that our family will be going out of town on the 29th.  I will not have internet access for a week, so have decided to change to final drawing to July 8th, when I'll be back home.)  The "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest winner will also receive an e-gift card.  In addition, he or she will receive one of my favorite books -- perfect for BookWyrms like us -- BookSpeak!: Poems About Books, written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Josee Bisaillon.

(To learn more about this wonderful book, 

please see what I wrote about it in this post.)

You may be wondering: How do I get my name in that bowl?  It's really not too hard to enter this contest.  I will write your name on a piece of paper and drop it in the bowl whenever you do any of the following:

1. Become an "official" follower of this blog
2. "Like" the Blue Sky, Big Dreams Facebook page
3. Post a comment on the blog (Please see my note about comments here.)  If you don't have a blog of your own, Blogger will let you post anonymously -- just be sure to sign your name at the end of your comment so that I'll know who to make an entry for!
4. "Like" a post on my blog's Facebook page
5. Post a comment on my blog's Facebook page (Please follow the same courtesies in the note mentioned above.)
6. Share a link to this blog or the blog's FB page on your own blog or on Facebook, encouraging others to check it out (Be sure to let me know you've shared it, so I can write your name down.)
7. Share any of the links to this blog that I post on the FB page (Again, please let me know you've done so.)  I often share links to other blogs or book-related pictures that I like.  Please feel free to share those, also, but doing so will not earn you an extra entry.
8. Also, if any of your friends/blog readers check out this blog or its FB page, and lets me know that you referred him/her to the site, I will enter both of your names twice.

*Those who are currently followers of this blog already have three entries each in my vase.  The same goes for those who have already liked my FB page.  I appreciate your support over the past two years VERY much! 

Thank you all for visiting Blue Sky, Big Dreams and helping me celebrate its second birthday! :)

Candle With Care

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PublicDomainPictures.net

Candle With Care

Every day's somebody's birthday.
If it's yours,
hurray!
(Ain't I nice?)
I don't have a present,
but 'cause I'm so pleasant,
have cake
and then save me
a slice.

~ Alan Katz, 

from Oops!

Happy 14th Birthday to my son, Nick!  He'd better save me a slice of cake since I'm the one who made it.... :)

Goodbye, Six -- Hello, Seven

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Goodbye Six -- Hello, Seven 

I'm getting a higher bunk bed. 
And I'm getting a bigger bike. 
And I'm getting to cross Connecticut Avenue 
   all by myself, if I like. 
And I'm getting to help do dishes. 
And I'm getting to weed the yard. 
And I'm getting to think that seven could be hard. 

~ Judith Viorst

My Benjamin is seven years old today.  I can't believe it.  He's getting so big and learning so many new things and, like this poem says, we've been giving him more responsibilities, too.  Growing up can be hard -- but it's also exciting, starting a new phase of life.  Ben has been beyond excited all week, waiting for this day to get here.  Happy birthday, Ben!  Hope you will love being seven! :)

Birthday Books

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My son Ben will turn seven next week.  He's been counting down the days for over two months now, and makes sure that everyone he meets knows his birthday is coming up!  I remember the days when I thought my birthdays were exciting, too -- I was just like Ben!  I think most kids are.  In celebration of birthdays, I want to share some fun books about those special once-a-year events.

When I first started thinking about birthday books, two popped into my mind immediately.  These are books that I've enjoyed ever since I was a young kid myself, anxious for my birthday to finally arrive:

Happy Birthday to You!,

written by Dr. Seuss, 1959

The Birthday Bird takes readers on a trip to Katroo in this joyous story, told with typical Dr. Seuss style.  In this whimsical land, birthdays are a big day -- a celebration of all the things that makes each individual special and unique. "Today you are you!  That is truer than true!  There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"

This book makes a great birthday gift for people of all ages, child or adult.  In fact, the copy I photographed above is one that I bought to give to Ben next week.  (Shhh... don't tell him!)

***

Little Gorilla,

written and illustrated by Ruth Bornstein, 1976

Everyone in the forest loves Little Gorilla... even when he's not so little anymore.

We received this story in board book form when my oldest, Emmalie, was a toddler.  It has been a family favorite ever since!   This sweet little story with its charming pictures lets kids know that even as they change and grow older, they will always be cherished by their loved ones.

***

I also went to the library earlier this month, in search of birthday books.  I found quite a few, though several were already checked out. Here are the ones we brought home that Ben and I liked the best:

I Love Birthdays,

written and illustrated by Anna Walker, 2008

Ollie, a zebra-like creature, lists all the things he loves about birthdays in this simple, rhyming text.

Ben and I really liked the endearing watercolor illustrations in this book, as well as the happiness that little Ollie exudes!

***

Little Lizard's Big Party,

written and illustrated by Melinda Melton Crow, 2011

It's Gary the lizard's birthday and he wants to have a party.

This book for beginning readers expresses all the excitement of a child on his birthday through its colorful illustrations and short, easy-to-read sentences.

***

What's Cookin'?: A Happy Birthday Counting Book,

written and illustrated by Nancy Coffelt, 2003

One by one, ten cooks arrive in the kitchen to help bake a birthday surprise.

This book not only teaches young readers to count, it also offers brief lessons on baking and cooperation.  Ben and I enjoyed the rhyming text and the fun pictures.

***

Happy Birthday, Bertie!,

written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister, 2010

Bertie prepares for his birthday party with the help of his daddy.  (And his father tries to remember where he put Bertie's gift!)  Soon the birthday boy's guests arrive and the festivities begin!

With cute, brightly colored pictures and a plot that kids can relate to, this was Ben's favorite of the birthday books we brought home.

***

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party,

written and illustrated by Melanie Watt, 2011

Scaredy Squirrel is a worrywart who likes everything just so. Not a fan of crowds, he plans a birthday party for one, figuring out every tiny detail ahead of time.  When he receives a birthday card in the mail from his friend Buddy, however, Scaredy decides that maybe he could invite one guest.  Little does he know that mayhem will soon ensue!

This silly story cracked me up!  (Ben, too.)  I loved the hilarious, detailed drawings and Scaredy's quirkiness. Apparently Watt has created several other books about this amusing character, including Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend (2007), Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach (2008), and Scaredy Squirrel at Night (2009).  I haven't read them yet, but plan to soon!

***

The Best Birthday Ever!,

written and illustrated by Charise Mericle Harper, 2011

Birthdays come only once a year, which leaves 364 days to practice for the next one.  Lana Kittie offers advice on how to make your birthday the "most specialist day ever", including what to wear, what to serve, and how to act when you're opening gifts.

Who knew a book about birthday manners could be so entertaining?  This humorous story keeps its readers giggling from beginning to end.

***

How about you -- do you still get excited about birthdays? What are your favorite birthday books?  I'd love to hear about them!

Happy Birthday!

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All month long we've been celebrating this blog's 1st birthday, but today is its actual birthday! In honor of that, I decided to have a special prize drawing this morning. Ben drew a name out of all our contest entries -- see the video here, on the Blue Sky, Big Dreams Blog Facebook page.  Congratulations to our winner, Tracy D. W.! (I already have your address, so will put your prize in the mail tomorrow.)

By the way, if you're reading this and you don't know what the Big Blue Birthday Contest is, you can find out all the information and details on how to enter here.

A Big Blue Birthday (and Contest!)

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In case you didn't know, there's a special birthday coming up!  Those of you who know me personally may be thinking: Oh, that's right -- Janelle has a June birthday.  That is true.  My husband has a June birthday, as well, and so does my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law.  But those aren't the birthdays I'm thinking of today.  No, I'm thinking of this blog's birthday!  I launched Blue Sky, Big Dreams almost one whole year ago, on June 17, 2011.

"We turn not older with years, 

but newer every day."

~ Emily Dickinson

When I first came up with the idea for this blog, I knew that I wanted to share poems, books, quotes, words -- as well as my own writing -- with kids, parents, teachers, librarians, writers, and other BookWyrms all over the world.  I imagined lots of written conversations, back and forth with my readers, about the things I'd shared.  I'd never had a blog like this before (just one with family pictures, for my friends and other family members to check in on once in awhile), so I really didn't know what to expect.  A few months later, in an attempt to reach more people, I added a Blue Sky, Big Dreams Facebook page.

As of today, I've shared 370 posts here -- that's even more than one post per day! I've posted most of them on Facebook, as well.  I've shared lots of poems, books, quotes, and words, plus some of my own writing (though not as much as I'd hoped).  So far, there have only been 100 comments here on the blog (and at least half of those are from me, responding to someone else's comment, LOL).  There have only been a handful of comments and "likes" on the Facebook page.

I try not to get discouraged by that.  I know that people are busy and often don't have time to read many blogs, let alone comment on them. (I would really love to get more feedback, though!) The statistics that I receive from Blogger show me that people are coming to my blog, and from all over the world, too.  In fact, in May, I had more visitors here than in any other month so far, passing my former record by 200+ hits.  I still don't have a very big following, however.  A friend of mine who began a new blog not long ago (but with a very different theme from mine) mentioned recently that she'd had over 1500 visitors in one month -- I can only dream of that kind of traffic right now!

I thought about my blog long and hard, wondering, Is it worth the work?  Finally, I decided that, yes, it is.  And that even if my blog only had one reader (myself), I would still keep doing it because it makes me happy. :)  Thankfully, I do have more than one reader.  And I hope that my blog makes all of you out there happy, too!

I tried to come up with ideas to (hopefully) increase readership -- and comments, too.  As part of that, and to celebrate Blue Sky, Big Dreams' one year anniversary, I've decided to hold a Big Blue Birthday Contest! :) Throughout the month of June, I will be collecting the names of my blog readers and putting them in this vase. (Some of your names are already there!*):

Every Friday I will draw one name from the vase and then send the winner a small token of my appreciation.  Then, on the 30th, I will draw one last name.  This lucky winner will chose three books from the list below, and I will send the books (in paperback form) as a thank you for supporting my blog.  All of these books have been featured on Blue Sky, Big Dreams over the past year; just click on the links to see a short review.  I have tried to include books (mostly fiction, but some nonfiction as well) from the various reader levels, ones that will appeal to both male and female readers.  (I realize that, at least so far, most of the people who read my blog are adults.  Hopefully I've picked books for this list that will interest you or a child in your life.)

Picture Books:
Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Swimmy by Leo Leonni
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill

Early Readers:
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik
Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward
Give Yourself to the Rain by Margaret Wise Brown
Bats by J. Angelique Johnson

Middle Grade Readers:
Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher

Young Adult Readers:
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Pen Commandments by Steven Frank
Seeing the Blue Between by Paul B. Janeczko

You may be wondering: How can I get my name in that vase?  Well, it will require a little bit of work on your part, but hopefully it will seem more like fun than work!  I will write your name on a piece of paper and put it into my vase whenever you do any of the following:

1. Become an "official" follower of this blog
2. "Like" the Blue Sky, Big Dreams Facebook page
3. Post a comment on the blog (Please see my note about comments here.)  If you don't have a blog of your own, Blogger will let you post anonymously -- just be sure to sign your name at the end of your comment so that I'll know who to make an entry for!
4. "Like" a post on my blog's Facebook page
5. Post a comment on my blog's Facebook page (Please follow the same courtesies in the note mentioned above.)
6. Share a link to this blog or the blog's FB page on your own blog or on Facebook, encouraging others to check it out (Be sure to let me know you've shared it, so I can write your name down.)
7. Share any of the links I post on the FB page (Again, please let me know you've done so.)
8. Also, if any of your friends/blog readers check out this blog or its FB page, and lets me know that you referred him/her to the site, I will enter both of your names twice.

*Those who are currently followers of this blog already have three entries each in my vase.  The same goes for those who have already liked my FB page.  I appreciate your support over the past year VERY much!  I have also gone through all of the comments and "likes" from the past year and written out entries for each one.

The Big Blue Birthday Contest is only the beginning.  I plan to include much more of my own writing from now on, plus I have some other ideas for this blog that I'll be telling you about later in the month -- stay tuned!  Thank you for visiting Blue Sky, Big Dreams and helping me celebrate its one year birthday! :)

A very happy birthday to yeh...

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In honor of my daughter Emmalie's sixteenth birthday tomorrow, an excerpt from one of her favorite books:

     "Anyway -- Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh.  Got summat fer yeh here -- I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

     From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box.  Harry opened it with trembling fingers.  Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.

~ from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 

written by J. K. Rowling

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

This is just a quick blog post in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America Day.  (I didn't find out that it was going to be either until last night and didn't have time to prepare more.  Maybe next year!) 

Sometime I will have to do a "Spotlight on Dr. Seuss" post, because he's written and illustrated many, many wonderful books.  For today, though, I will simply share one of my favorites, My Many Colored Days.  Published in 1996, five years after his death, this is a delightful little book about various emotions.  I love the bright paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, but even more than that, I love how Dr. Seuss so aptly describes different feelings, assigning them each a color. 

My son Benjamin loves this book, also.  The two of us have read it so many times that we have the words memorized.  I remember one dreary winter day not too long ago, when we both were feeling bored and a bit dreary ourselves.  Ben walked up to me and said, "Gray Day...  Everything is gray.  I watch. But nothing moves today."  I nodded solemnly, and then we both erupted into a fit of giggles, turning our gray day into more of an orangish pinkish one!

Cheers to Dr. Seuss, who has helped to make reading fun for so many kids, for so many years!

Happy Birthday to You

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In honor of my son Nick's 13th birthday, an excerpt:

If we didn’t have birthdays, you wouldn’t be you.
If you’d never been born, well then what would you do?
If you’d never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that… Why you might be a WASN’T!
A Wasn’t has no fun at all. No, he doesn’t.
A Wasn’t just isn’t. He just isn’t present.
But you… You ARE YOU! And, now isn’t that pleasant!

So we’ll go to the top of the toppest blue space,
The Official Katroo Birthday Sounding-Off Place!
Come on! Open your mouth and sound off at the sky!
Shout loud at the top of your voice, “I AM I!
ME!
I am I!
And I may not know why
But I know that I like it.
Three cheers! I AM I!

~ from Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss

Cake Mistake

A funny poem, in honor of my Benjamin's 6th birthday... happy birthday, buddy!!

Ben's cake (no glue added), Sept. 2011

Cake Mistake

Mother made a birthday cake,
For icing she used glue.
The children sit so quiet now,
Andchewandchewandchew.

~Douglas Florian, from Bing, Bang, Boing, 1994