Leo feels like an alien.

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.

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.

One day Maya turns red for scared, and Leo has to rescue her from too many people. He knows just how she feels!

More visits with Maya help build another friendship for Leo. This time outside of the tank.

A gentle story about a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, all while we learn about the amazing creature called the Octopus.

The author is a parent of a son with Asperger’s.

Author – Isabell Marinov

Illustrator – Chris Nixon

Picture Book

(2021, Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism, Fitting in, Sea Creature, Ocean, Aquarium)