The Alexander Series gathers Greek myths retold for children who want to be trusted by stories. These tales are written for young readers who are ready for wonder, danger, courage, sorrow, monsters, gods, riddles, and beauty — and for the adults who remember how large the world once felt when a story was told well.
The old Greek stories were never small. They carried storms, labyrinths, transformations, impossible choices, divine quarrels, human bravery, and the strange brightness of things not easily explained. This series does not talk down to those stories, or to the children who meet them. It opens the door carefully, clearly, and with respect.
This blog gathers excerpted thresholds from the wider Alexander Series publication: myth retellings, read-aloud passages, notes from the Greek world, illustrated reference pieces, and other writings shaped for children, parents, teachers, grandparents, and anyone who believes that young readers deserve stories with depth as well as delight.
The full publication continues on Substack at The Alexander Series, where A. M. Sharp retells Greek myths with seriousness, clarity, warmth, and wonder.
For the broader constellation of Lucas Varro and A. M. Sharp’s mythic, contemplative, and literary work, visit The Library.
The Alexander Series
Hephaestus — The God of the Forge
After Daedalus and the Wings, The Greek World turns to Hephaestus: god of the forge, fire, metalwork, armour, traps, thrones, and impossible crafted wonders. A child-readable Greek myth guide to the divine maker whose objects can protect, shame, arm, trap, and astonish.
Daedalus and the Wings
A child-honouring Greek myth retelling of Daedalus and Icarus: a maker, a son, a prison with no door, and two wings stitched from feathers, wax, and hope. This Alexander Series tale preserves the wonder and sorrow of the myth without reducing it to a lesson about flying too close to the sun.
The Labyrinth
Before Daedalus made wings, he made the Labyrinth: a house of turns built to hold the Minotaur and hide the truth of Crete. This Greek World entry prepares child readers for Daedalus and the Wings by showing the maze not as a puzzle, but as one of Greek myth’s great signs of secrecy, danger, memory, and return.
Old Stories, Young Hands — The Little Mythologist Printable Greek Mythology Workbook
Introducing The Little Mythologist, a printable Greek mythology workbook for children aged 6–10. Created as a hands-on companion to The Alexander Series, it includes twelve Greek myth retellings, colouring pages, symbols to notice, questions to discuss, activities, and a Junior Mythologist Certificate. Try the free sample or view the full workbook on Etsy.
The Calydonian Boar Hunt: Artemis, Atalanta, and the Monster in the Fields
After Atalanta’s race, this Greek World entry places her among hunters, heroes, dogs, spears, and the terrible boar sent by Artemis. The Calydonian Boar Hunt is more than a monster story: it shows divine anger, Atalanta’s courage, Meleager’s honour, and the dangerous pride that remains after the beast falls.
Atalanta Runs for Her Freedom: The Girl No One Could Catch
Atalanta can outrun every man who comes to claim her. Raised by the wild and watched, perhaps, by Artemis, she runs as if the whole world has opened beneath her feet. But when Hippomenes arrives with three golden apples, beauty itself falls onto the path — bright enough to interrupt even the fastest runner in Greece.
Artemis: The Bow, the Deer, and the Wild Path
Before Atalanta runs, a child should know Artemis: goddess of the bow, the deer, the moonlit path, and the wild places that do not belong to anyone. This Greek World entry introduces Artemis with clarity, danger, and wonder — not as a gentle nature figure, but as the severe, watchful goddess behind Atalanta’s speed.
Cyclopes: One Eye in the Dark
After Odysseus escapes the cave, this Greek World entry turns back to ask what a Cyclops really is. Polyphemus is the one-eyed danger in the dark, but the older Cyclopes belong to fire, thunder, divine weapons, and the beginning of the world. The first answer is simple. The second answer is stranger.
Odysseus in the Cave of the Cyclops
A serious children’s Greek myth retelling of Odysseus, the Cyclops, the cave, Nobody, and the danger of a name spoken too soon. Written for The Alexander Series, this tale carries monster-fear, cleverness, danger, warmth, and the first shadow of Poseidon’s remembered anger.
Poseidon: The Sea Is Not Only Water
Before Odysseus enters the Cyclops’ cave, a child should know Poseidon: god of the sea, storms, horses, earthquakes, and remembered insults. This Greek World entry shows that the sea in Greek myth is not scenery. It is a realm with a will of its own — and sometimes it remembers.
Ariadne’s Thread: The Small Thing That Leads Courage Home
After Theseus escapes the Labyrinth, this Greek World entry turns to the smallest object in the story: Ariadne’s thread. It does not defeat the Minotaur. It defeats being lost. A child-readable guide to Ariadne, the Labyrinth, courage, return, and the quiet line that leads the hero home.
Theseus and the Thread
A serious children’s Greek myth retelling of Theseus, Ariadne’s thread, the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth. Written for The Alexander Series, this tale carries real danger, warmth, courage, and wonder — reminding young readers that a sword may face the monster, but a thread remembers the way home.
The Minotaur: The Monster at the Centre of the Labyrinth
Before Theseus enters the Labyrinth, a child should understand the Minotaur: not only a monster, but a secret hidden inside a royal house. This Greek World entry opens the dark centre of Crete — King Minos, Poseidon’s anger, Daedalus’s maze, and the creature no one sent into the Labyrinth was expected to survive.
Zeus and His Children: The Stormy Family Tree of Greek Myth
In Greek myth, being Zeus’s child is never merely lucky. This Greek World entry introduces children to Zeus’s stormy family tree: Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the strange truth that divine parentage may bring glory, danger, trouble, or all three.
Hermes: The Road, the Message, and the Trick
Hermes is not the strongest god. He is quicker than that. This Greek World entry introduces children to the messenger of the gods: guide of travellers, friend of roads, master of tricks, and the god who appears when a hero needs more than courage to survive.
The Gorgons: Medusa, the Shield, and the Danger of Looking
After Perseus survives Medusa, this Greek World entry asks what a Gorgon really is. The Gorgons are not ordinary monsters. Their danger lies in looking itself. A child-readable guide to Medusa, her immortal sisters, Athena’s shield, reflected sight, and the strange wisdom needed to face a fear indirectly.
Perseus and the Shield of Athena
A serious children’s Greek myth retelling of Perseus, Athena’s shield, Medusa, and the courage to protect someone loved. Written for The Alexander Series, this tale gives children real danger, clear warmth, divine help, and the old strange wonder of Greek myth without making the story smaller.
Athena: The Shield, the Owl, and the Courage to Think
Before Perseus meets the Gorgon, a child should know Athena: goddess of wisdom, shields, strategy, owls, olive trees, and courage under pressure. This Greek World entry introduces Athena’s signs and her sharper kind of help — not rescue from danger, but the wisdom to stand inside it without losing one’s mind.