Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure ~ A Review

Welcome to the blog tour for Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure, by Jocelyn Porter. Described as a children’s picture book, aimed at 3-8 year olds, this sounded like a perfect book to read with our son.

Overview

“My bus takes off with a sonic boom, straight through the wall and out of my room…”

Finn and Fred Octopus are off on a magical adventure to the Arctic. They meet a kindly seal, a hungry polar bear and an angry walrus. The whales sing to Finn, and Finn arrives home with an important message to share …

Purchase Links:

Amazon (UK) — Amazon (US) — Publisher

Review

Finn has an old suitcase under his bed. When he and Fred, his friendly toy octopus, sit in the case, it becomes a magic bus which transports them to adventures together.

A fun book, with an important subtext of planet preservation, the story moves along at a steady pace. Our son certainly enjoyed listening to the rhythmic rhyme. The artwork (by Leo Brown) is excellent, with eye-catching images which provide extra depth to the narrative. The polar bear was a particular favourite.

Fred and Finn offers a good introduction to some of the wildlife which lives in the Arctic region. Creatures featuring in the story, range from a snowy owl to narwhals, a walrus to whales. I did notice that all the main animal characters are referred to as ‘he’, which is something we try to avoid with our son.

I’d like to have seen more context to some sections of the book, perhaps presented as an appendix. The polar bear tells Finn and Fred that it is hungry. An addition at the end could have gone into more detail about why polar bears are hungry. A general section about each of the animals would also have been interesting. Perhaps also a map showing where the Arctic is. Or simply a section recommending further reading. This would elevate the book from a fun illustrated read, to something more educational.

Sales of the book provide a contribution to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary; 100% of the proceeds if bought at the sanctuary (10% if purchased elsewhere).

About The Author

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.

Before becoming a writer, Jocelyn worked 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 centres. 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 the 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 worked 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.

Jocelyn’s first book published by Full Media is The King Who Didn’t Like Snow, illustrated by Michael S Kane. Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure is her second book under Full Media and is illustrated by Leo Brown.

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Many thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for hosting this book tour, and offering me the chance to review Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure. Thank you to Jocelyn Porter for gifting me a copy of the book, in return for an honest review. All views expressed are my own.