Leo and the Octopus

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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. 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. 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: Before I even had a chance to put this book on display in my class library, children were asking me about it. There’s just something about the fluorescent orange that really gets them! Themes The story itself is sweet and simple. A child feeling out of place and finding friendship with an animal is so realistic that I couldn’t help but fall in love with Leo. Following his journey to finding a friend, I’m certain, can be very relatable to many children and adults. After all, animals, especially misunderstood ones, just want someone to reach out and show some compassion. This is exactly what Leo does with Maya. What I also loved is how Leo doesn’t just stop with Maya, the octopus, but he also is able to share this interest in octopuses with another child.

I was graciously offered a physical copy of Leo and the Octopus, and I was very excited to read it. Such a sweet story with a powerful message. 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.But one terrible November day, the lives of Daniel and his family are changed forever when an accident renders Daniel a shadow of his former self. As Daniel retreats into himself, his family slowly begin to fall apart, without this bright boy at the heart of their lives.

Overall, I loved this book and can see myself reading it to my son, once he’s a bit older, and having discussions about how sometimes people can make friends easy, some need more help, and what we can do to help. I would recommend this picture book to young children and to parents to read to their youngsters about how being different is okay, and how can we show acceptance and care to everyone. 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 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 Endorsed by Professor Tony Atwood, author of Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and ProfessionalsLeo and Octopus, by Isabelle Marinov, illustrated by Chris Nixon, is a sensitive and perceptive story about a little boy who struggles to make sense of the world until he meets Maya the octopus. ‘Sensitive, accurate and perceptive’ 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. The sensitive descriptions throughout the book of what it is like to have autism are accurate and perceptive on so many levels" (Professor Tony Attwood, author of Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals). Text Rationale: I think this book would work well at the beginning of the school year to introduce how people respond to different stimuli and could be used to discuss ASD and SEN, and the general idea of ‘difference’. When an impromptu trip to a chip shop seems to briefly engage Daniel with the real world, the family decide to revisit their Chip Shop Championships, on a quest to find the best chip shop in the country.

Leo and the Octopus is a brilliant book for building empathy; it really raises awareness of what life is like living with autism. ✭✭✭✭✭” 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. 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. 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! 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.

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Discover a heart-warming new picture book about a little boy with autism and the octopus who helps him understand the world. She is also a teacher and has extensive experience working with autistic children and their families and caregivers. The story itself never uses the word autism - only that Leo has difficulties with 'living on the wrong planet' and feeling like an 'alien', that he doesn't know much about friendship, is shown to have sensory sensitivities, becomes heavily interested in information about his new octopus friends and then infodumps on the new child who joins the story later. It seems that books (and films) revealing the astonishing complexity, intelligence, and emotional capacity of octopuses are having a moment. This story and others lead me to root for that trend and hope it expands and sustains. This story has so much going for it in fostering empathy and awareness of neurodivergent children, but it is much more than that. Even with the neon orange color accents, the tone and pace of the text and the images create a subdued, supportive, and engaging structure for readers of all kinds to dive right in to the story, and into the discussions it could spark. 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 sensitive descriptions throughout the book of what it is like to have autism are accurate and perceptive on so many levels’. The octopus keeper is not judgmental, he is observant and curious, recognizing those same traits in Leo. With keeper's encouragement and acceptance, Leo launches a personal mission to learn all he can about Octopuses, sharing those facts via a notebook on several spreads. Impressed, the keeper invites Leo to interact with Maya the octopus, providing ever more challenging puzzles. All of which Maya solves, abby the way. With fun activities, colouring and tips to help children explore what autism means, alongside guidance for parents and caregivers. 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.Leo and the Octopus is a beautiful story about finding comfort in others, even when differences divide you from others.