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Marinov, Isabelle

Leo and the Octopus

32 pp. | Kane Miller | September, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-68464-277-9 $12.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Chris Nixon. A boy named Leo feels like an alien. Everything around him is simply too much: too bright, loud, and ­confusing. For Leo, "life on the wrong planet was stressful. And tiring. And lonely." One day at the aquarium, he meets a fellow "alien": an octopus named Maya. He dives into octopus research, and then ­visits again. With the help and encouragement of Edgar the octopus-keeper, Leo even gets the courage to touch Maya. Her skin whitens, which (as Leo had learned) is a sign that she feels calm--she likes him! One day, Leo arrives to find a big, noisy crowd. He knows it's a problem as soon as Maya begins to turn red: this was too bright, too loud, and too confusing. The crowd finally dissipates, but Leo finds another (human) friend in a boy who stays behind. Marinov tactfully parallels Leo's neurodivergence with Maya's own talents, allowing readers to both sympathize with and admire their approaches to the world. Nixon's stylized illustrations, gently rendered in a muted palette, make excellent use of shape and color to communicate Leo's and Maya's senses of safety (or lack thereof), even linking the archway of Maya's enclosure to the shape of Leo's cardboard hideout at home. Using her own family as a model (per an appended note), Marinov simply and straightforwardly honors the experiences of a child on the autism spectrum who is ­negotiating this overstimulating planet.
Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

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