It would depend on who got the first shot. JL: Who would win in a battle between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter? RIORDAN: I’d be Poseidon so I could control the sea. JL: If you could be any Greek god, whom would you choose and why? RIORDAN: I hear from librarians all the time that the 200 section is getting a real workout these days. JL: Have you seen or heard about an increased interest in mythology since the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books came out? Which profiles gods and other characters from Greek mythology. One great Web site for mythology buffs is Theoi Greek Mythology ( RIORDAN: I’ve been reading mythology for years, but I still brush up on the lesser-known facts using Web sites and reference books. JL: What kind of research did you have to do to get the mythology correct and still make everything appropriate for the twenty-first century? Basically, I try to structure my books the way I structured my classroom-to always keep the kids engaged. I try to mix in the modern with the ancient and use plenty of humor. It has magic, mystery, adventure-everything you could want. RIORDAN: Mythology is a natural draw for kids. What do you think attracts readers to those stories? How do they connect with the characters?
JL: The Percy Jackson and the Olympians books have been so popular. If you can hold the attention of a classroom in fifth period, you’re doing something right. I always imagine myself reading my own book aloud in fifth period, right after lunch. The writer has to get to the point quickly and hold the reader’s attention. They won’t sit through a bunch of extraneous information. RIORDAN: Kids are a much tougher audience than adults. JL: How did your experience as a middle-school teacher help with your writing? What did your students teach you about writing for young people? The Maze of Bones, which is a YA thriller. My early mysteries were definitely great practice for writing my young-adult books, especially The next thing I knew, I was a children’s author. The Lightning Thief began as a bedtime story, and my son urged me to write it down. He asked me to make up a new story for him. RIORDAN: My oldest son was nine years old when he became interested in Greek mythology.
Newest books by rick riordan series#
How did you end up switching to writing for children? Did the experience of writing mysteries help you with plotting and writing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the 39 Clues books? JL: You started out writing mysteries for adults. It was promptly rejected, but I kept trying. That’s also when I decided to become a writer.
I didn’t like books until I got into junior high and discovered mythology and fantasy. A longtime fan of Riordan’s mysteries, I recently had the opportunity to talk with him about his books for young readers. Riordan was selected to outline the story arc for the series and write the first of what will be 10 books. The Maze of Bones, the first title in the 39 Clues series, which offers a multiplatform, cross-media reading experience. In 2008 Scholastic released Riordan’s groundbreaking Each book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has been met with popular and critical acclaim, and the series has garnered an almost cult following. The Lightning Thief may have started as a story created to reach one reader, but it quickly became one of the most popular books of 2005 and was selected for Al Roker’s Book Club for Kids. He chose mythology because that was the only subject that his son found enjoyable. Inspired by one son’s reading difficulties, Riordan began to create stories about Percy Jackson, a young demigod who comes from a dysfunctional family. He also recognized that both of his sons were reluctant readers and wanted to encourage them to read more. Riordan also taught middle school while writing these titles, and it concerned him that his students often wanted to read his books, which were not age-appropriate. Rick Riordan’s first success as an author came from writing adult mysteries featuring a hard-boiled San Antonio detective. The author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series talks about his runaway best-sellers as well as what’s next.
0 kommentar(er)
