Leo and the Octopus

Product Information

In a trip to an aquarium one day, Leo meets Maya – a Giant Pacific Octopus. Maya is quiet, calm and alone in her tank. The next time Leo visits, he tells Maya’s keeper all the fascinating facts he has since learnt about the Octopus. The keeper invites Leo to touch Maya. When he does she turns white. This means she’s calm, and likes Leo! That’s another amazing thing about the Octopus. Their colour shows how they are feeling. Leo wishes people were colour coded too. Leo struggles to make sense of the world. He doesn't understand the other children in his class, and they don't seem to understand him. But then one day, Leo meets Maya. This story shows a strong relationship between an octopus and a child with autism. The text has strong PSHE and science links. This text explores issues around neurodiversity and provides opportunities for discussion as well as exploring strategies to cope in a neurotypical world. The story also encourages children to be curious and reflect on their relationship with the natural world. Links and themes:

Leo knew exactly how Maya felt. Sometimes he wished he could squirt water at all the things that annoyed him to make them disappear. Isabelle Marinov Leo wonders if he’s on the ‘ wrong planet‘. He feels like an alien, battered by a world that is ‘ too bright’ and ‘ too loud’. What’s more, it seems as though the other children do not understand him. It leads Leo to retreat to his cardboard box, where he might read and feel safe. I am a teacher of special needs and have sisters who also have special needs, so when the opportunity to review a children’s book based on a boy with autism, I jumped at the chance! The sensitive descriptions throughout the book of what it is like to have autism are accurate and perceptive on so many levels’. She is also a teacher and has extensive experience working with autistic children and their families and caregivers.He doesn’t enjoy the world outside his bedroom. It’s too noisy, too bright, and too confusing. He’d rather read a book inside his large cardboard box house he has made. One afternoon Leo notes that a particularly large, noisy crowd is stressing out Maya. (Read this wonderful book to discover how he knew that.) His empathy and concern allow Leo to solve his own puzzle, figuring out how he might support and protect his new friend. Leo's experience with Maya (being curious, non judgmental, and learning more) allow him to apply those strategies with an actual human, one who appears curious, too. As a young child growing up with Asperger’s Syndrome, Leo can find the world to be a stressful, lonely place. We follow Leo’s journey as he begins a heart-warming friendship with an octopus named Maya. My Comments

Through Leo, Isabelle Marinov provides the reader with many facts about octopuses, and we learn about them as he does. I found the information so interesting that I ended up watching My Octopus Teacher! I can certainly see how Leo was fascinated by Maya, and I believe that children of all ages reading this book will be too, making this a great book to read alongside an ocean-based or environmental topic. The public aquarium offers a respite and a potential friend. Colors and sounds are muted. If you've ever been to a public aquarium you'll slide right into Leo's experience: water and creatures move at a slower pace, voices are muted, and water plants offer gentle motion while staying anchored in their places. Endorsed by Professor Tony Atwood, author of Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals Maya is an octopus, and the more Leo learns about her, the more he thinks that perhaps he isn’t alone in this world, after all. Win a copy of the book and a mood-changing octopus plushie!What a wonderful book. Isabelle Marinov handles autism with incredible sensitivity, whilst somehow also conveying so much about what it’s like to see the world through the eyes of a child who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Both Leo and Maya are fully developed characters, and their blossoming relationship is a joy to read.