Celebration & Giveaway: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Hold onto your hats! If you can believe it, Percy Jackson is ten years old! That's right, just a short decade ago, Rick Riordan introduced us to the demigod Percy, son of Poseidon. Ten years and five books later, Percy is still wowing readers, young and old.
I can't tell you how excited I am to help celebrate Percy Jackson's anniversary. Every month from now to the end of the year, I'll be writing about this fantastic series. I'll tell you ten things I love about each book, I'll clue you in to special anniversary extras, and I'll even have three great giveaways (starting with the one I have today, thanks to Disney-Hyperion).
I hope you join me for the ride. Look for photos, cool swag, and more across your social media sites by searching for the hashtag #ReadRiordan. First up? Let's take a closer look at the book that started it all: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by (of course) Rick Riordan.
What's it all about? Just in case you're unfamiliar with The Lightning Thief, here's the publisher's summary:Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse--Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends--one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena--Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.Ten Things I Love About The Lightning Thief
- The scene where Mrs. Dobbs turns from math teacher to "shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs." Poor Percy! This is his first real hint that the world might be more than it seems.
- Dionysus scoffing at humans: "Oh I love mortals--they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far."
- That Charon has gotten a taste for expensive silk Italian suits.
- The EZ Death line on the way to Hades.
- Grover!! Do I need to say more? Well, OK, Grover wearing the flying shoes!
- Percy jumping off the top of the Gateway Arch. I'm not so sure I'd be that brave or trusting.
- The demigods' method of IM-ing: Iris-messaging, that is. Just make a rainbow!
- Annabeth giving her father another chance.
- Percy's mother's new career, which started with the life-size concrete sculpture called The Poker Player.
- Percy accepting who he is and taking the chance to live in the world instead of at Camp Half Blood.
Do you have a favorite scene or character from The Lightning Thief? If so, let me know in the comments.
Giveaway: Now for the giveaway you've all been waiting for! To help celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first Percy Jackson book and thanks to Disney-Hyperion, I am able to offer one of my readers a box set of all five of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books.All you have to do to be entered to win is to have a U.S. mailing address and to fill out the form. I'll pick the winner on June 26 using a random number generator. Once the winner has been confirmed and his or her address has been passed along to the publicists, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!
Even more cool things!
- Special eBook deal through June 22, 2015: Buy The Lightning Thief for only 99¢; this version includes a sneak peek from Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One: The Sword of Summer.
- Buy the exclusive Barnes & Nobel anniversary edition of The Lightning Thief (see the cover above), which includes bonus material from the author and illustrator.
- Download the anniversary edition activity kit, which consists of fun games and puzzles. While there, check out the other kits and reading guides.
- Finally, don't forget to get Percy Jackson anniversary news by following hashtag #ReadRiordan across your social media sites and keep up with author Rick Riordan by following him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
8 comments:
I just read the first book of the series, but thought it was very very cute and clever. I know kids of the appropriate age (or more appropriate than my age) love love love this series!
Vance listened to the first book when he was in college and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love Rick Riodan's books. These books were so, so popular when I worked at the library. At the time he wrote The Lightning Thief, Rick Riodan was living in San Antonio and he came to Austin frequently to do events. I'm really excited that he is moving on to Asgard and the Norse gods. His stories are so clever and they have made mythology so interesting to kids and adults alike. Happy Anniversary to Percy!
I loved the scenes between Percy and his father and their developing relationship.
I think these books would be perfect for my nephews.
i know you adore this series but i did give a try and alas not my cuppa ..
I really enjoyed the series when I did read it and need to return to it and read the later series too, which I haven't...yet. I do have a set of the first series setting on my shelf and I should revisit, especially with this anniversary. Thanks for reminding me about the series, which I loved.
I listened to the first couple--need to get back to them, but I can't wait to explore these with the girls! I actually just moved my collection of Harry Potter to Elle's room (because I needed the shelf space--LOL!) and hope to add this collection to it one of these days.
I am currently reading Sea of Monsters with my kids. This series is so much fun. I love the humor and I love the characters. Grover is definitely probably my fave of all though.
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