Friday 26 April 2019

Tiger Livy Children's Book Review and Giveaway (In aid of the Cure JM Foundation).

Tiger Livy is a book for younger children which is written by Erin Garcia and Betsy Miller, with illustrations by Ivreese Tong. The main character Livy is a little girl with a serious chronic illness and is inspired by Erin's niece, who was diagnosed with Juvenile Dermatomyositis aged 5. We've been sent a copy for review and the authors have also kindly offered a copy each for two of my readers.


Livy struggles at first to cope with being ill. She is sad and confused and getting better feels like it will take forever. With help from her wise Grandfather she begins to look at everything differently. She sees the scars on her legs as tiger stripes, reminding her that she is as brave as a tiger. She sees her vegetables as tasty prey that will make her strong.


I've spent the last 9 years with several hernias. It has physically limited what I can do, but emotionally it's hard work. I posted that I'd been brave after my operation 2 weeks ago. I did feel brave because hospitals and medical treatments are scary. I can't imagine how children cope when they don't even really understand what is happening.


The illustrations are lovely, with comic book and slightly manga style characters, and lots of expression in the faces. There is little extraneous detail, focus is always on the characters in the story and their interactions. It's especially excellent when you find out the illustrator is 15! She'll go far.

The text is understandable for younger children aged around 3+, but not condescending, so even my 9 and 10 year olds have read Tiger Livy to themselves.


I really like this book. It expresses a lot of the fears a child who is ill or has to attend hospital might have, and it encourages children to be positive and proud of how they are coping, rather than feeling low. It is positive and comforting, and shows a child that they are not alone in how they feel - we understand. It's short and sweet and perfect for reading together, and talking about afterwards.


Tiger Livy is available to buy now in hardback (£16.99rrp) or glossy large format paperback (£10.99rrp) with 30 pages. Every page is brightly illustrated in colour and it's best suited to reading together with children aged around 3-9.

Part of the Tiger Livy Project to inspire people to make their own communities brighter and be kinder to others. Proceeds from the sale of Tiger Livy will be donated to the Cure JM Foundation.

Handy Amazon affiliate links*


Author Erin Garcia has offered a copy each of Tiger Livy for two of my readers. Entry to the giveaway is via the Gleam form below and the sweepstake is open to UK entrants only. For a link to help with Gleam or to see my other UK giveaways, please go to my Giveaways Page...

Entry will close at midnight Sunday 19th May. Your details won't be used for anything other than administrating the giveaway, full terms and conditions are at the bottom of the Gleam form.

Tiger Livy Children's Book Review and Giveaway

We were sent our copy of Tiger Livy for review. *Amazon links are affiliate, which earns me a few pence if you order through my link, but never costs you any more.

29 comments:

  1. Over 40 years ago - it was the worst experience id ever had - my chosen profession made sure the same mistakes didn't happen again
    Loving kind pleasant fun environment with lots of cuddles - none of these were allowed !!

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  2. Yes, I've had to stay in hospital. I found my phone and iPad to be most useful.

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  3. No never but the TV always looks cool in Hospital but does cost.

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  4. I've only had to stay in hospital once, my partner staying with me as much as he could was the most comforting

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  5. Robert Mark Ward28 April 2019 at 04:31

    The hospital staff are what I found most useful, helpful and comforting.

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  6. Not really but I would think something to read something to colour and something to watch

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  7. I stayed in hospital for 14 days and was really ill, but had a lovely nurse and Doctor who reassured me.

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  8. I spent years in hospital as a child. I found it comforting to have some things from home with me, to both remind me of home and make my surroundings feel less clinical and scary.

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  9. only when i had my daughter- 12 years ago, the nurses were fab xx

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  10. It looks like a beautiful book!

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  11. Natalie Burgess1 May 2019 at 19:40

    When I was a little girl I broke my arm and was in hospital for a while. I found all the pictures on the wall really inviting and warm in the children s ward

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  12. Only when I gave birth to my son last year, all went well thankfully x

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  13. A book or magazine is very useful to pass the time.

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  14. Yes, I've had to stay in hospital always find taking books and magazines helps pass the time

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  15. Only when I had my children, and they were with me so as a new mum, didn’t need anything else.

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  16. Yes i was in intensive care with a blood problem and kidney failure, just needed my family around me

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  17. Years ago after having children, it was ok, wouldn't like to stay in now I might not come out at my age

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  18. I had a stay in hospital a while ago with my bad back, one morning at 7am they woke up the ward and left me til last, has they woke me they sang Happy Birthday, a lovely surprise considering where I was

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  19. Most recently I was in hospital just before christmas and the hardest thing was not being with my two girls. My Fiance made sure I had calls and pictures sent to me every day fro them so I was so glad I had my phone charger xx

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  20. The only time I have stayed in hospital was when I was having a baby, I found comfort having my partner there.

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  21. I've had to stay in before. Having my phone with me helped :)

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  22. I spent 2 weeks in hospital whilst they repaired my broken ankle and found crosswords and Sudoku very relaxing.

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  23. Im very fortunate that I haven't had to but my daughter has had to stay in hospital a number of times with asthma related problems and she found the toys and play room comforting - actually the play room was totally amazing for kids

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  24. My son has been in hospital several times due to his epilepsy and I found the nurses to be a great help

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  25. Yes , my mobile as it has pictures of my children and I can stay in contact with family

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  26. I have never had to go into hospital, so its hard to comment, but family members have and they have always said they had no problems

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  27. I have a blanket that has photos of my two sons on, I find that very comforting

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I read every one and try my best to reply!