Icarus and his father Daedalus are trapped on an island by evil king Minos. Daedalus is a great inventor, and Minos wants him to build war machines. Instead, Daedalus uses his skills to build wings so that he and Icarus can escape. However, flying is more fun, and more dangerous, than either of them expected. 

This book gives young readers a straightforward introduction to the myth of Icarus. Saviour Pirotta opts to give Daedalus and Icarus a generic reason to escape, but otherwise the myth is true to the canonical tale. The choice allows him to keep the story’s focus on poor, impulsive Icarus. Pirotta keeps the story’s original ending, and he hammers home the message that kids should listen to their parent’s advice. Tender-hearted readers might be sad, but the fairytale moral helps distance readers from the tragedy of the end. 

As always with the First Greek Myths team, the illustrations are excellent and well-integrated into the narrative to bring the myth’s events to life. I particularly like that the wings are built like a hang glider instead of attaching to the heroes’ arms. It makes Daedalus’ invention seem like clever engineering that might have worked.  – Krishni Burns