'Livi & Nate' by Kalle Hakkola and Mari Ahokoivu is a graphic novel for young readers.

In a series of linked stories, Livi and Nate play outside, and learn to help their grandpa. While mom has to go to work, Livi and Nate dream of snowbears and turning in to butterflies.

It's a book full of fun and pretend by two siblings with big imaginations. The story flow might be a bit hard for younger readers to follow, but the stories are nice as is the art.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Owlkids Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is a graphic novel for kids. There are only a couple of words in the whole book. It is too strange and the pages too busy for my tastes.

This book is about two siblings, their firefighter mom, and elderly grandfather. Each page holds several illustrations but no words. It took a bit of work to study the illustration and imagine the dialogue.

The pages use pink, yellow, blue and black. I can see what some people like about this book. I must not be creative or artistic enough to enjoy it.


I received an ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or ratings of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so

I enjoyed this sweet graphic novel for kids. Livi and Nate are siblings, and we see them having a typical winter day- playing in the snow, then indoors, and having a quiet evening with their mother and grandpa. After being tucked into bed, Livi has lots of interesting dreams, each picking up bits of her day and turning them into something more, as often happens. She wakes up a couple of times because of scary noises, and wakes Nate up to investigate, finding non-scary reasons for the sounds. This is very slice-of-life, not really much plot, but very enjoyable all the same. The illustrations are colorful and fun, and a bit childlike in style, which is perfect for the story. This isn't a book that will suit everyone's tastes, but I think many will enjoy its charms.

#LiviAndNate #NetGalley

This book made a lot more sense to me when I realized that it was a translation. It doesn't follow a traditional American format for a children's book. Namely, it doesn't really have a plot. We don't get much "slice of life" in young chapter books. Picture books sometimes, but not in longer format books.

I wanted to like this, but it was just too much. Gave me a headache with all that was happening on one page. Plus the characters were really aggravating. Just not my thing.
#Netgalley

Livi, Nate, Mom, and Grandpa are enjoying the exceptional winter. Well, Livi and Nate are enjoying it. Grandpa may have worked too hard, and Mom is trying to keep him from doing too much while keeping her two kids in hand. Soon the kids are tucked into bed. But they hear something. Is there a dragon outside? Or is it just a dream?

This was odd. I’ve never read a stream of consciousness book for little kids but that is what this feels like. It goes from the events of the evening and then just slips in and out of the kids’ dreams, includes a few conversations between dreams, and ends when they wake up and finally figure out what that noise is. Topics range from whether Mom and Grandpa are safe, to keeping snow creatures around till next winter, to imagining what their Mom does at work as a fire woman. It was honestly a little weird and all over the place, but it was definitely unique. The artwork is also unique. I found it a little busy and not my cup of tea, but I’m sure there are others who will love it. If you’re looking for a bedtime book, a winter story, a story that features dreams, antics of two very normal feeling kids, or a book in translation you might want to give this one a try. I’m waffling back and forth over whether we’ll get this for our library or not. Possibly, but I definitely won't be working hard to hunt down a copy.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Livi and Nate is a beautifully illustrated book. It is a cross between a graphic novel and a picture book, and students will love it.

Livi and Nate are a curious brother and sister duo. They have spent the day building snow creatures in the snow, and now their imaginations are running off with them. It is through their dreams and their inside play that their adventures continue as their snow creatures come alive and they investigate the mysterious noises coming from their grandfather's bedroom.

My favorite part of the story was the illustrations. The imagines were dreamlike and will be devoured by young readers. I love the juxtaposition between the choices or colors and the simple sketches of the main characters. These design choices were brilliant and really make the story pop.

My only concern about the story is that the plotline jumps around a lot. I think this will be a struggle for younger readers because of the lack of text. The limited presence of words will force the students to really have to focus on the illustrations and make inferences as to what is occurring in the story.

I really struggled viewing this book. I wonder if it would have been better to read it as a protect pdf instead of a Kindle title. The formatting was odd. Illustration are beautiful. I showed them to my 5 year old. She loved them.

This book is a combination of a quiet evening reality and three different dreams. It is very relaxed and flowing. I liked the fact that the family unit is not traditional - it has Mom, Grandpa, Livi and Nate.

Lovers of graphic novels will enjoy this silly quirky tale about siblings who live in a non-traditional family. Livi and Nate by Kalle Hakkola and Mari Ahokoivu is everything lovers of other graphic novels like The Bad Guys and Captain Underpants love, childish humour and outrageous goings on but ultimately the story is about taking care of your family.

I really love that Mom is a firefighter and she and Livi and Nate all live with their grandfather, a man who wants to do everything himself but needs some help now and then. Behind all the silly there is a lovely message of community and contribution; being there for your loved ones when they need help shoveling the driveway and chasing away bad dreams

Cute illustrations.
Let my grandkids read this one and they enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the ARC.

I struggled with this book. I would love to put it in the hands of kids and see if their opinions differ from mine. I like the graphic novel feel of the book. However, I had a hard time deciding if it was funny or serious. Often times my opinion differs from that of my students so I would like to see what they think.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

cute graphic novel for kids. my daughter thought it was good, but not great.

***Thanks to the publisher and #Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***

Full of imagination and warmth. This story is about family and is a glimpse into the mind of two children. Their imagination and fun is what drives the story, but there were a few elements that seemed off.

Did I miss something? Where's the plot? This has got to be one of the weakest graphic novels for kids that I've ever read. It had the potential to go somewhere, but it just got lazy.

This is basically three little "stories" about Livi's dreams. In the beginning, there are some tantalizing hints that something might be wrong with Grandpa (not that there being something wrong with Grandpa is a good thing, except maybe for plot purposes). But Grandpa has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. He's just a sleepy babysitter. Oh, and that third "story"? How does a butterfly repeating, "Hi Livi!" ten times (before switching to, "Yes!" for seven repeats, followed by further inane interjections) constitute a plot? Livi grows wings in the attic. That's literally it.

Maybe something was lost in translation from the original (Finnish?), but I really don't see much of value here. It's boring, tedious, and the characters are so badly developed that I can't even tell how old the kids are supposed to be. (I really hope that Livi is only supposed to be a toddler, however, because she's drawn as completely naked at one point.)

I'm afraid this just isn't for me. I'm not sure if the terribly thin plot and somewhat creepy drawings are going to win it many young fans, either.

A quirky book of sibling swirled with an imaginative world in the midst of a long winters night where fears are faced and comfort sought. The book has an ebb and flow that allows the reader to experience the variations of moods, experiences and interactions within a family unit. This book ultimately is a reassuring story of family and the safety of home.