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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.