Rick Riordan’s Fantastic World Kelly Shepherd Towson University

Author of many popular, award-winning books for both adults and children More than 20 million copies sold worldwide Published in 39 countries Married, with a wife and two sons Has three pets, a Golden Lab mix and two black cats Favorite activities include reading, writing, and playing guitar Riordan’s last name is pronounced Ryer-dan (it rhymes with fire)

The Early Years Rick Riordan’s Biography Image retrieved from

Life Before Fame Rick Riordan’s Biography

Fame and Fortune Rick Riordan’s Biography Image retrieved from

Perseus, aka Percy Jackson, thinks he has big problems. His father left before he was born, he’s been kicked out of six schools, in six years, he’s dyslexic, and he has ADHD. What a surprise when he finds out that’s only the tip of the iceberg: he vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, learns his best friend is a satyr, and is almost killed by a minotaur before his mother manages to get him to the safety of Camp Half-Blood – where he discovers that Posiedon is his father. But that’s a problem, too. Posieden has been accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt, and unless Percy can return the bolt, humankind is doomed (Sherman, 2005). Introducing Percy Jackson… Image retrieved from

About The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Image retrieved from

Riordan’s Trademark Style Fast-paced plot, focusing on action and adventure Infuses historical elements and classical mythology into modern life Modern kids who face tremendous challenges Humor Fantasy elements with a unique twist

The saga continues in The Lost Hero… The first book of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new characters: Piper – daughter of Aphrodite Leo – son of Hephaestus Jason – son of Zeus New challenges Percy Jackson is missing The giants, Gaea’s children, return to overthrow the Olympians Piper’s father is being held hostage by the giants Jason has amnesia, speaks Latin, instead of Greek, and has strange initials tattooed on his arm. Image retrieved from

Published by Scholastic Written by a team of writers, including Gorman Korman, Jude Watson, Margaret Haddix, and Linda Sue Park. Riordan wrote the first book, The Maze of Bones, and outlined the story arc for the entire series. Series is designed to be interactive, with trading cards, online games, and a treasure hunt for readers. Riordan’s most recent contribution to the series are The Black Book of Buried Secrets and Vespers Rising. The 39 Clues series Image retrieved from

Video by Scholastic Kids One million dollars or a clue that could lead to the most powerful secret in history…what would you choose?

The Kane Chronicles A new series that introduces siblings Carter and Sadie Kane. Their father, an Egyptologist, is really a descendant of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Their father disappears after freeing five Egyptian gods from their prison. Sadie and Carter learn that they possess magical powers that they must use to fight the evil that their father has unleashed. Image retrieved from

Rave Reviews Review of The Red Pyramid He has a winning formula, but this book goes beyond formulaic to present a truly original take on Egyptian mythology. His trademark humor is here in abundance, and there are numerous passages that will cause readers to double over in laughter. The humor never takes away from the story or the overall tone. A must-have book, and in multiple copies (Wadham, 2010). Review of The Lost Hero Riordan excels at clever plot devices and at creating an urgent sense of cliff-hanging danger. His interjection of humor by incongruous juxtaposition – Medea, for example, heads up a New York City Department store – provides some welcome relief (Burns, 2011). Review of The Lightning Thief Riordan’s fast-paced adventure is fresh, dangerous, and funny. Percy is an appealing, but reluctant hero, the modernized gods are hilarious, and the parallels to Harry Potter are frequent and obvious. Because Riordan is faithful to the original myths, librarians should be prepared for a rush of readers wanting the classic stories (Sherman, 2005).

“People have said for many years that writing for kids is easier. I haven’t found that to be true at all. If anything, writing for young readers is more demanding because they don’t have as much patience as adults. Adults will stay with you if you have paragraph after paragraph of extraneous descriptions. Kids won’t do that. They’ll let you know right away if your story is losing them. So you have to be a better storyteller.” (Smith, 2008) Riordan on Writing… “I always imagine myself reading my own book aloud in fifth period, right after lunch. If you can hold the attention of a classroom in fifth period, you’re doing something right.” (Larson, 2009) Image retrieved from

Shamus Award (1998) for Big Red Tequila Edgar Award (1999) for The Widower’s Two-Step Mark Twain Award (2008) for The Lightning Thief Mark Twain Award (2009) for The Sea of Monsters Rebecca Caudill Award (2009) for The Lightning Thief Carnegie Award (2010) for The Last Olympian Carnegie Award (2011) for The Red Pyramid Children’s Choice Book Awards (2011) Author of the Year

Here, you can: Listen to the author read aloud from The Lightning Thief. View the author’s blog and watch video interviews. Learn more about ancient history and mythology. Play games. Learn more about Rick Riordan’s upcoming projects. For more information, try these websites:

References (2011) An interview with Rick. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from interview-with-rick.aspxwww.rickriordan.com/aboutrick/an- interview-with-rick.aspx (2011) Meet Rick Riordan. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Burns, C. T. (2011). The lost hero. [Review of the book The lost hero]. School Library Journal, 57(2), 118. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Academic Search Premier database. Follos, A. (2008). Author profile: Rick Riordan. Library Media Connection, 26(5), Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Academic Search Premier database. Larson, J. (2009). Talking with Rick Riordan. Book Links, 18(5), Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Academic Search Premier database. Sherman, C. (2005). The lightning thief. [Review of the book The lightning thief]. Booklist, 102(2), 59. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Academic Search Premier database. Wadham, T. (2010). The red pyramid. [Review of the book The red pyramid]. School Library Journal, 56(6), 118. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Academic Search Premier database.