Arlo’s Ocean of Feelings
Riding the Waves Together
Coming soon. The first book in the Spiral to Anchor series.
Arlo’s Tale of Two Islands
The Journey Between Two Homes
A picture book for the child who loves two homes, and feels the storm in the space between them.
Be the first to know the moment it is ready.
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The story
One boy. Two islands. Two homes.
Arlo lives on two islands. One is calm and warm, with wildflowers, soft grass, and a house that smells like fresh cookies. The other is wild and full of adventure, with tall trees, hidden caves, and scary stories by the fire. He loves them both. Each one holds a piece of his heart.
But the part nobody talks about is the crossing. The boat ride in between, where the water gets choppy and the feelings get big. That squiggly, swirly feeling of being happy and sad at the very same time. The tug of leaving one home to get to the other.
This is a story about that in-between. And about what Arlo works out for himself: he does not have to choose. He can carry the best of both islands inside him, wherever he goes.
Why it is different
Most books skip the hard part. This one starts there.
A lot of children’s books about two homes try to make everything feel fine. Arlo’s Tale does something different. It names the storm a child actually feels on a transition day, and then it gives them something to hold onto.
By the end, Arlo has a map for his feelings and the steady knowledge that he is loved in both places. Children see their own experience on the page, told in a way that feels true instead of tidy.
Who it is for
For the child carrying too much, and the adults who love them.
For children roughly ages 5 to 9 who move between two homes and do not always have the words for how it feels.
For safe parents who want to read something with their child that tells the truth and ends in steadiness.
For therapists, counselors, and child professionals who want a shared story to read in session.
How it fits
Part of one shared language.
Arlo’s Tale of Two Islands belongs to Spiral to Anchor, an approach built by a pediatric occupational therapist for families living between two homes. The steady, grounded words Arlo uses in the book are the same words parents and professionals use too, so a child hears the same calm language at home, in session, and on the page.
About the author
Written by someone who has lived it.
Joanie Johnson is a pediatric occupational therapist with more than twenty years of experience. After becoming a parent herself and raising her son across two homes, she went looking for a book that told the truth about what children feel in that situation, and found very little. So she wrote one.
The Arlo series
Where Arlo goes next.
Arlo’s Tale of Two Islands is the beginning. Five more books are on the way, and each one takes a single piece of the Spiral to Anchor language and turns it into a story a child can hold on to.
Arlo’s Compass of Calm
Finding His Way Home
Arlo’s Anchor
Finding Steady Ground
Arlo’s Map to a Happy Heart
Charting a Course to Connection
Arlo’s Inner Light
Shining Beyond the Storm
Covers shown are final artwork. Titles release one at a time, and the waitlist hears about each one first. Join the waitlist.
Join the waitlist
Be first in line.
Arlo’s Tale of Two Islands is the first book in the series, with more on the way. Join the waitlist and we will let you know the moment it is ready, before anyone else.
You are on the list. We will let you know the moment it is ready.
Spiral to Anchor is a clinical support and education resource. It is not therapy, legal advice, or medical care, and it does not replace working with a licensed professional. Results and experiences vary.
If you or your child are in immediate danger, call 911. If you are struggling and need to talk to someone right now, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available any time, day or night.