A brand-new picture book
Octopirate is a brave little octopus pirate determined to save his beautiful coral reef home — with the help of his trusted ocean friends.
Octopirate is a brave little octopus pirate determined to save his beautiful coral reef home — with the help of his trusted ocean friends.
Octopirate sets off on an unforgettable journey across the ocean — with his trusted friends: the wise sea turtle Professor Shellby, the fun-loving dolphin Bubble Brigade, and the kind human Sunny the Sailor.
But when a terrible storm threatens everything he loves, Octopirate must find the courage and strength to rebuild.
The book is filled with adventure, friendship, and an important message about hope, teamwork, and caring for the ocean through the simple, every-day steps all humans can take.
Ages 4–8 · 8.5″ × 8.5″ · 24 full-color pages
Hardcover $24.99 · Paperback $14.99 · Coming soon
A portion of sales proceeds will go to support ocean and animal conservation efforts. 💙
Yes, blue! It helps them live in cold, deep water.
Not tentacles (those are squids). In illustrations only 6 usually show — the other 2 stay behind him.
A central brain plus a mini-brain inside each arm.
Two pump blood to the gills, one to the rest of the body.
Octopirate doesn't sail alone. Meet the wise, the brave, and the wonderfully colorful characters waiting inside the book.
Three hearts. Eight arms. Zero patience for nonsense happening to his reef. Don't let the eye-patch fool you — both eyes are on the prize.
Octopus facts →
A sea turtle older than your grandparents' grandparents — she remembers the reef when it was loud with color, and she's the one who teaches Octopirate what was lost and what can come back. Wears glasses. Has Opinions. Believed in.
Sea turtle facts →
The fun-loving dolphin crew. Neon-green shades, perfectly-timed splash entrances, and the kind of optimism every reef needs.
Dolphin facts →
A bright, bouncy school in every color of the sunlit shallows. First on the scene, last to leave.
Reef fish facts →
The kind human. A cheerful young captain who sails across choppy waters to find Octopirate — proof that humans can show up for the ocean too.
How to help →
Snorkel goggles, sandy feet, opinions on everything. They ask the questions the grown-ups forgot.
How kids can help →
The grown-ups making the important decisions every day — for the kids who'll inherit the reef, and the ocean life that calls it home. Their choices shape what tomorrow looks like.
How grown-ups can help →Watches the entire story from a respectful distance. Speaking role: zero. Side-eye: legendary. Will steal your sandwich.
Save the reef →Octopirate's home isn't make-believe. Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor but house 25% of all marine life — and half the world's reefs have already disappeared since the 1950s.
Small creatures can do enormous things. Here's how your family can help.
How we can help →
Octopirate is a picture book built for the bedtime-to-classroom journey: rhyming prose, vibrant illustrations, and a story that opens up real conversations about courage, friendship, and caring for our oceans.
Read-aloud or early-independent.
Full-color illustrations throughout.
Courage, friendship, conservation, persistence.
Small creatures can do enormous things.
Leila is an entrepreneur, lawyer, and founder of a technology company. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the Sorbonne in Paris, she has studied sustainable economic development and international law. Being so deep into tech, privacy, and law — and living "in the cloud" — she'd been feeling a little disconnected from the planet and from her passion for sustainable development. Octopirate is what she made in her spare time over the past year to reconnect, and the first in a planned series.
She's always been fascinated by octopuses — beautiful, intelligent creatures — and a lifelong ocean lover who has snorkeled reefs in Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, and Florida (plus the Amazon, where the pink river dolphins live). The book came together after a snorkel trip off the Florida coast where the reef colors were dimmer than she remembered, followed days later by standing in front of a vibrant living-reef tank at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami. The contrast wouldn't leave her alone.
Octopirate was illustrated by Nayana Viana Ferreira, with special thanks to Leila's dear friends Leonardo, Rana, and Dan for their thoughtful edits along the way.
"Our corals are imperiled. We must do everything we can to protect them — and the next generation is who we're protecting them for."
Read the full story →Available at all the usual harbors when the book launches. Pre-order now and you'll be first ashore on launch day.
School visits, press, illustration questions, fan mail — we read every message.
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