The Little Myths Library
The Boy Who Flew Too High
The Story of Icarus
A locked door, a tall stone tower, and a boy who keeps looking up.
The story
What happens in this one.
This warm and funny picture book introduces children to Icarus, the boy of Greek mythology who flew on wings his father built out of gulls' feathers and beeswax — and turns the world's most famous warning into the most joyful thing that has ever happened to anybody!
In short, rhythmic sentences made for reading aloud, Orson Vale, creator of The Little Myths Library, tells the story of a locked tower on the island of Crete, of a clever father who watches the gulls until he works out how to leave, of feathers sorted into three neat piles, and of one rule with two sides: not too low, and NOT TOO HIGH, ICARUS!
Here the sea catches him and his father comes down and gets him, so The Boy Who Flew Too High can be read to the smallest listeners without a single bad dream.
Read a sample
The first five pages, as they are printed.
The opening of the story — 5 of the 26 story pages. Tap a page to start reading, then turn the pages with the arrows. The rest is in the book.
For the grown-up reading aloud
“About the Real Icarus” is the last page.
Every book in the library closes with the original legend retold in plain words — so when the question comes after the last page, there is an answer on it. Nothing is watered down; what changes is the gentleness of the telling.
- Reading age
- 4–6
- Read-aloud time
- About five minutes
- Format
- 8.5 × 8.5 in paperback
- Also on
- Kindle, tap to enlarge
The rest of the library
More myths, told small.
Three Heads, One Good Dog
Don't Open the Jar!
Whatever You Do, Don't Look!
Hold On to the String!
The Girl Who Ate Six Seeds
The Baby They Hid in a Cave
Born from a Headache
Not the Bad Guy
The King with the Three-Pointed Fork
Up, Pegasus, Up!
The King Who Turned His Toast to Gold
Hello-ello-ello
My Name Is Nobody
Never Trust a Giant Wooden Horse
The Man Who Stole Fire