I’m an enormous fan of Full Media children’s books and simply couldn’t resist participating in the blog tour for two of their recent books: The King Who Didn’t Like Snow by Jocelyn Porter, illustrated by Michael S Kane and The Boy Who Breathed Underwater by Izzy Rees, illustrated by Sarah-Leigh Wills. My thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources, for inviting me to take part today. It’s my pleasure to help close the tour.

The Boy Who Breathed Underwater

When lying in his bed, a boy is visited by a genie. He is given a week to try out different superhero powers.

What adventures will he have, and which power will he choose to keep?

The Boy Who Breathed Underwater is available for purchase directly from Full Media or Izzy Rees and on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

My Review of The Boy Who Breathed Underwater

A little boy spends the week trying super powers.

The Boy Who Breathed Underwater is a charming children’s book and I loved it.  It’s vibrantly illustrated so that meanings are enhanced and there’s humour as well as a vital message within the story so that it is hugely entertaining.

The excellent rhyme scheme is a delight to read aloud as it fits the rhythms of speech really naturally so that The Boy Who Breathed Underwater is a lovely story to share with children. The rhyme also helps children with their own language development, also identifying different sounds and spellings with a slightly older readership. There’s a wonderful lesson that being content with ourselves is the best way to be happy too.

However, smashing educational opportunities aside, what works so well in The Boy Who Breathed Underwater is the exciting story. All the things we all, never mind children, might dream of doing such as being able to fly or being invisible are explored so well and I can imagine any child thoroughly relating to what happens.

I thought The Boy Who Breathed Underwater was just wonderful and finished reading it with a smile on my face.

About Izzy Rees

Izzy Rees was born in West London, but has spent the last thirty years living in Derby. Ten years ago, when her three girls were young, she began work on a series of rhyming picture books, created in snatched moments, and initially written on small scraps of paper or whatever was available. She always intended to revisit them, and Covid and lockdown presented the opportunity; unable to continue her work as a neurophysiotherapist, working with vulnerable patients, she decided it was now or never! She has written six books so far in the ‘The Boy Who’ series, The Boy Who Breathed Underwater being the first one. The others will be published in the near future.

You can find Izzy on Facebook. 

The King Who Didn’t Like Snow

King Mark is a higgledy-piggledy king and he gets into a pickle every day. “Do something, Bert!” he shouts, and Wizard Bert, and his sidekick, Broderick the bookworm, always save the day. When snow fell on Windy Hill Castle, everyone was delighted – except for King Mark! King Mark didn’t like snow and he started to sulk.

Will Bert and Broderick save the day again?

Will King Mark walk into trouble?

Do the children of Windy Hill Village have the answer…?

The King Who Didn’t Like Snow is available for purchase directly from Full Media or on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

My Review of The King Who Didn’t Like Snow

Bert and Broderick have a new mission!

Before beginning my review proper, I must mention the fact that 10% of the book’s profits go to charity.

The King Who Didn’t Like Snow is a perfect children’s book because it explores emotions from anger to happiness, with sulking and laughing woven in, so that children can begin to understand how others might feel and to realise that if they give something a chance, like King Mark does with snow, they might just find they enjoy it. It’s a really entertaining story too and gives wonderful status to children as King Mark learns from them. There’s magic and drama in the narrative children will adore.

The illustrations are so vibrant and stimulating that they add to the excitement of the story. I loved the fact that there are children of colour in the pictures so that The King Who Didn’t Like Snow feels inclusive.

The King Who Didn’t Like Snow is a longer children’s story than many and this adds to its longevity as it can be read many times without children becoming over familiar with it. It also means that slightly older children will enjoy it too and the range of vocabulary develops language skills. New words are introduced in a context that is completely accessible.

The King Who Didn’t Like Snow is a fabulous children’s book and I really recommend it.

About Jocelyn Porter

Jocelyn’s writing career began when she was asked to write a story for a preschool magazine. That story was the first of many. Jocelyn became the writer/editor of several preschool magazines and continued in that role for 15 years. Writing one new story every month, plus rhymes and activities was a tough gig, but very exhilarating.

Time is the big difference between writing for a magazine and writing a book.  You see your work on the supermarket shelves within a few weeks of completion. A book takes longer – a lot longer. Jocelyn has to be patient now – not something she’s good at.

Before becoming a writer, Jocelyn work in higher education as International Students Officer. It was a rewarding and interesting job even though she was on call 24/7.

Jocelyn also trained as a counsellor and volunteered at drop-in centers. She never knew who would arrive for counselling and had to be prepared for anything. This work gave her insight into some of the darker corners of life.

Motor sport was one of Jocelyn’s early loves, she had spine tingling thrill of taking part in a 24-hour national rally as navigator – those were the days when rallies were held on public roads!

Jocelyn work as an au pair in Paris in her teens. Having visited the city on a school trip, she fell in love with it, and always wanted to return.

You can find Jocelyn on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too: