The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan

Book One of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Modern Fantasy/Chapter Book

This book is about a 12 year old boy, Percy, who finds out that he is not a normal child, but a demigod and the son of Poseidon. When Zeus's lightning bolt goes missing, Zeus believes that Percy has stolen it, and Percy goes on a quest with two of his friends to find it. The book is full of interesting creatures and has many mythological references and connections.

This book is the first in a series, making it yet another book perfect for the standard RL.3.9 - compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters. Standard RL.4.4 - determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean), is also suitable for this book, since it is based on Greek mythology. This would most likely be a book I would use for reading groups or in the classroom library.

Riordan, R. (2005). The Lightning Thief. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.