What Lives in the Ocean

Habitat Series - Book One

What Lives in the Ocean is a joyful, inclusive picture book created for all young children-whether they are early learners, curious toddlers, or children who experience the world differently. Thoughtfully designed to support a wide range of developmental needs, it's especially supportive for children with visual impairments like cortical visual impairment (CVI), sensory processing challenges, or global developmental delays.

Created by Rachel Worden, a parent advocate and author with lived experience as a medical mom, this book combines accessible design with lyrical storytelling to help children explore sea life in a way that is engaging, empowering, and developmentally appropriate.

Unlike most children's picture books that rely on stylized illustrations, What Lives in the Ocean features real photographic images of ocean animals. This is a crucial visual strategy for developing brains-especially for children with CVI-helping them build recognition and connection to real-world objects more effectively.

Each page offers high-contrast, uncluttered visuals paired with simple, rhythmic text, supporting visual access, attention, and early language development. The pacing and layout are intentionally calm and predictable, reducing sensory overload while inviting interaction.

Perfect for home libraries, early intervention programs, classrooms, and therapy spaces, What Lives in the Ocean is the first book in the Habitat Series-a collection created to reflect how all children see and learn. Upcoming titles include What Lives in the Desert and What Lives in the Rainforest.

Whether a child sees in snapshots, needs more time to look, or learns differently altogether, this book was made with them in mind-because every child deserves to feel included in the story.