This collection makes a nice introduction to Greek myth for younger children, but not because it is introductory in any systematic way.  Instead, like Nathaniel Hawthorne in his pioneering “Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys,” Rosie Dickins has simply picked out myths she thinks will make good stories.  

Of the five myths in this collection, two (“Pandora’s Box” and “King Midas and the Gold”) are among those most frequently retold for children.  Dickins follows other retellings in giving Pandora a box and not (as in the original Greek version) a jar, and makes Pandora herself thoroughly sympathetic: it is the box that is the source of evil.  She also includes in the story of Midas the daughter invented by Hawthorne and adopted in many later versions, but names her Zoe instead of Marigold. The remaining myths are “The First Olive Tree” (the story of the competition between Athena and Poseidon to determine who should be the patron divinity of Athens); “Arion and the Dolphin;” and “Heracles and the VERY Smelly Stables.”  

Dickins’s retellings are simple and engaging, and Sara Ugolotti’s illustrations are plentiful, appealing, and interwoven with the text in the manner of a picture book. - Deborah Roberts