Pandora’s mother tells her not to open a box. Pandora does everything but open it – touches it, leans on it, sits on it, stands on it, bounces on it – until it springs open and cupcakes come flying out. Pandora apologizes and hopes her mother stills loves her. She does.

There is an explanation at the end of the book about Prometheus stealing fire from Olympus and being punished for it along with the people of earth.

Analysis by Allison Rosenblum:

This book is a very short retelling of the original myth. It gears itself towards young children by making Pandora herself a toddler that cannot withstand the pull of a strange box. It also shows that even though Pandora’s curiosity got the better of her and she made a mistake, her mother still continues to love her.

Analysis by Ayelet Peer:

The illustrations in this cardboard picture book relate an entire story with just a few words, by a clever placing of the main characters, Pandora and the Box. With two words and a series of illustrations the book captures the essence of the myth and Pandora’s curiosity (without using the word itself). On the first page Pandora’s character appears under the caption, “Pandora” and on the opposite side the word “box” is written, and we see a large wrapped box.

In the next pages the box remains intact and the only change is with Pandora, who slowly approaches it with a puzzled look which turns to a mischievous grin. In the next page the box is not on its own page any more. The growing attachment of Pandora to the box is well illustrated. When they are apart, they are both drawn on separate pages. However, when Pandora touches it with her finger, the box is drawn on both pages (part of it on its on page and part of it is drawn on the same page with Pandora) until Pandora starts to communicate with it more (leaning on it, sitting on it etc.), and then they are illustrated both on the same page. Hence the drawings convey Pandora’s internal conflict as well as her interaction with the box.

The author made two significant changes from ancient myth in the box. The first is its content. Unlike the original myth, this box contained good things, cupcakes, which were ruined when Pandora opened it. This is a story for toddlers and this Mini-Myth series adapts the known myth to correlate with toddlers’ world. Therefore the author wished to show that if we behave badly and cannot control ourselves and be patient we can destroy fun things (and not abstractly release bad things to the world). 

The second alteration, the use of Hope, is also adapted to cater to the young audience. Pandora hopes (the word is accentuated in the text by using a pink colour) that her mother still loves her after what she did. “Do you still love me? I hope so”. This is a naïve and innocent approach to the sense of hope as it is understood by toddlers. Pandora hopes that her relations with her mother are not harmed and her mother reassures her that she loves her regardless. This is the quintessence of Hope, that it can help us get through difficult straits, even ones of our own making.

Little Pandora draws her confidence from the love of her mother, therefore hope, which was at first a sign of Pandora’s fear and doubt (I hope you love me), reaffirms its positive strength through the mother’s love. The story also describes a healthy mother-child relationship, in sharp contrast to the ancient gods’ relations with the humans they created. The mother does not wish to punish Pandora for her curiosity and misdeed; she comforts her in her distress and the child understands it is okay to make a mistake occasionally. What is more important in this story is Pandora’s sincere regret and understanding of her actions, and not just her mischief.