The Little Myths Library
Whatever You Do, Don't Look!
The Story of Medusa
The girl everybody runs from has never once been asked her name.
The story
What happens in this one.
This warm and funny picture book introduces children to Medusa, the snake-haired figure of Greek mythology whose eyes turn people to stone — and turns the most feared face in the old stories into a friend a four-year-old can love!
In short, rhythmic sentences made for reading aloud, Orson Vale, creator of The Little Myths Library, tells the story of Milo, a small goatherd who climbs into Medusa's garden after his runaway goat, and of the day two people learn that you don't have to look at someone to see them.
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 Medusa” 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!
Hold On to the String!
The Girl Who Ate Six Seeds
The Boy Who Flew Too High
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