In Be Careful, Icarus!, Icarus is a young child living in the modern world. He is introduced on the first page, while the facing page uses a single image, single word combination to show what is important to Icarus – a kite. When the story begins, Icarus is making a bird-shaped kite with his father. He is warned not to spill the paint, but still does so. They celebrate when the kite is completed. Out in the park, Icarus is eager to hold the kite himself. His father hands it over and Icarus runs with it calling Higher. Icarus' father calls out Be careful, Icarus!, but Icarus runs into a copse of trees. The kite is damaged; Icarus looks forlorn; his father tells him that they can fix it. We see them working on it together. In the final image, Icarus is successfully flying the patched-up kite. He (and his father) are behaving more responsibly. Icarus now stands and flies the kite properly with his father supporting him. A one-page summary of the myth follows, written at a somewhat different register, as if for an older child of c. 4–8.

This is a beautifully-illustrated series that creatively transposes ancient myths into real-life scenarios faced by pre-school-aged children. Subtle ancient-style features are included in the design of each volume in the series: a brightly-coloured Greek key runs vertically along the cover beside the spine; the series name is written on a scroll, with the 'S' of 'myths' written in a jagged, inscription-like style; on the spine, the main character is shown standing upon a Doric column, with the name of the book written on the column, and the image of the character atop a column is repeated in the interior title-page. 

A theme, or moral lesson, is included in each volume in the fore-notes in the style of a dedication. In Be Careful, Icarus!, the dedication is To trying out your wings. In the traditional myth of Icarus, Icarus wears a pair of manufactured wings and dies when he disregards his father's advice, venturing too close to the sun and causing the wings' glue to melt. In this re-telling, trying out your wings refers to trying new actions and skills; this is neatly tied-in with the second meaning, trying out the wings of the kite.

This retelling follows the familial dynamic of the ancient myth by focusing on a father-son relationship. In ancient versions of the myth, Icarus' father, Daedalus, creates the wings; here father and son make them together. Daedalus tries to warn Icarus, but Icarus is reckless and disregards the warning. In both stories there are consequences; in both the wings are damaged, in myth the boy dies, in the retelling the kite is broken. The retelling then offers a constructive addition to the narrative – the wings can be fixed, Icarus acts more carefully, and Daedalus demonstrates more diligent parenting. At a very fundamental level, the books in this series act on and communicate the idea that ancient mythology contains concepts that can help in children's development – social and emotional. The retelling of this myth communicates a key moral of the ancient myth, namely the need for children to follow good advice about being careful and to regulate their behaviour. Ancient versions of the myth carry further stern lessons about the irrevocability of action – what's done is done, not all mistakes can be rectified (Icarus' recklessness) and the things one does can lead unintentionally to the loss of all one holds dear (Daedalus did not mean for harm to come to his son when he invented the wings). This retelling favours an alternative additional lesson, which is the importance of perseverance and learning from your mistakes. This latter message is more in-keeping with modern priorities in child development.

There are few visual indicators of antiquity in the story beyond those which are common to the series. One striking double-page does, however, strongly invoke the original myth. When Icarus runs with the kite shouting Higher, the usual turquoise background is rejected in favour of a glowing sun filling the page; it begins with a central yellow which bleeds into orange then red, with Icarus running excitedly into the reddest corner. Adult readers and some child readers will recognise the significance of the sun as a connection with the myth. However, even those who do not, are likely to feel instinctively the increased frenetic energy of the colours and, potentially, to understand the implication that Icarus is losing control and heading towards danger.  

The summary of the myth at the end of the book goes to greater length than in other titles in the series to avoid reference to the more sinister elements of the ancient myth. There is an explanation that Icarus' father created a maze – but no reference to it housing the Minotaur. There is no sense that Daedalus and Icarus wish to get away from where they are; the wings are said to have been created so that they can escape the maze. It then explicitly says that while Daedalus warned Icarus not to go too high, Icarus was too excited and did not listen – the crux of the myth. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the young age of the intended audience, the summary refers to how Icarus splashed into the sea below, avoiding mention of his death. For more on the ancient traditions, which begin with Daedalus as inventor and only gradually come to include Icarus, see Homer, Iliad, 18.590ff; Herodotus 7.170; Diodorus 4.76–79; Apollodorus 3.15; 3.65; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8.183ff, Tristia 2. 105; and numerous examples from Greek and Roman art.

This series introduces very young children to some of the names and images associated with antiquity, preparing them for encountering these images and characters again in different contexts. The families in the books come from a range of ethnicities, with the implication that classical myths are universal, regardless of ethnic background. Children at the outer edge of the age bracket for these books (i.e. around four years old) can also enjoy the summary that comes at the end of the book, which creates the opportunity for an early encounter with the sophisticated concept of characters reappearing in different contexts and stories, and stories working on different levels – things which are likely to stimulate thought and a nuanced approach to stories and story-telling.