The Box: A Greek Myth Retold

by Carolee Dean, 1000 Storybooks (illustrator)

Zeus is enraged when mankind accepts the gift of fire that Prometheus stole from Mount Olympus. The gods get their revenge by creating Pandora and a mysterious box she and her husband, Epimetheus, are told never to open. This lively picture book version of Pandora's Box will delight readers of all ages. An adult reads the introductory material in a strategy called Pair and Share Reading while the student reads the decodable story. That part is told in verse. Students with a fifth-grade reading level may read the introduction independently. Fourth graders may read it with support after studying the pronunciation guide for the names. The decodable poem focuses on closed syllables (short vowels) as well as initial and final consonant blends. The Box is Book 3 from Level 1 of the HOT ROD series. To read the other stories in the Greek creation story, see Book 1 - No Gift for Man, and Book 2- The Bandit. Book 4, coming soon, is called Gods and Gifts. It is a chapter book for older students with black and white illustrations incorporating Books 1-3. It will include additional background information and descriptions of other creation myths. Activities for all three stories will be available in The Gods and Gifts Activity Book coming summer of 2024.

At Word Travel Press we believe that meaningful content is important for developing strong readers. We have created the HOT ROD series to complement any reading program. Our books were specially designed for older students who would benefit from controlled reading practice. Our stories and poems help students develop Higher Order Thinking through the Reading of Decodables written as stories, poems, and more. For information about the scope and sequence of HOT ROD and the progression from basic to advanced decoding visit www.wordtravelpress.com. On the website, each book is supplemented with additional Higher Order Thinking questions, reproducible materials, games, and activities.

32 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2024

About the author

Carolee Dean, MS, CCC-SLP, CALT, Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Academic Language Therapist specializing in dyslexia, is an adjunct instructor at Providence College teaching Language-Based Learning for students pursuing a Master of Education in Special Education with a Dyslexia Credential. She is the founder of Word Travel Press LLC, creating decodable books and related materials for struggling readers through her HOT ROD series. She served as the Western Region Representative for the International Dyslexia Association from 2022 to 2025. Dean specializes in narrative-based strategies and is the author of Story Frames for Literacy: Enhancing Student Learning Through the Power of Storytelling (2021, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co, Inc). She has also written award-winning young adult fiction available through Houghton Mifflin and Simon Pulse.