A Kid's Review of The Lightning Thief Series

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, is probably my all-time favorite series.  I recommend this book to anyone at all, no matter how young or old.

The Lightning Thief

This first book introduces the Lighting Thief series about a boy named Percy  who finds out that all the Greek myths that he's read were real.  He finds out that his dad is Poseidon, god of the sea, and someone has stolen Zeus' master lightning bolt.

Zeus claims that the thief is Percy, so he must find the real thief and return it before the Summer Solstice when the gods have a big meeting.  This lightning bolt is important because it is Zeus' source of power, and if he doesn't get it back, there will be a big war between Zeus and Poseidon.

I like this mystery fantasy adventure, especially when Percy was sword fighting Ares, the god of war.  This was one of my favorite scenes because it was exciting fun.

This book does not refer to the Greek myths as much as the others in the series, but it does introduce the Greek gods who are just like what you hear from the Greek myths.  This book brings the ancient Greek myths to life.

The Sea of Monsters

This story relates to the myth of the cyclops, like the one in Ulysses.  In the original myth, Ulysses has to escape from Calypso's, the cyclops, island.

In The Sea of Monsters, instead of escaping, Percy has to get to the island to get the golden fleece (like the golden fleece in Jason and the Argonauts.) 

Percy needs this golden fleece to cure Thalia's tree because the tree makes the magic borders that protects his half-blood camp from monsters.  Half-bloods are kids who's one of their parents is a god.  Percy is a half-blood who lives at the camp because monsters attack half-bloods who don't live there.

This is an exciting addition to the Lightning Thief series.

The Titan's Curse

In The Titan's Curse, Percy finds out about two new half-bloods that don't know that they are demi-gods, Bianca di Angelo and Nico.

Artemis, goddess of the hunt, is captured by the Titans, the gods who existed before Zeus and Mt. Olympus.

Percy has to gang up with Artemis' hunters and save Artemis.  Bianca becomes a hunter, and joins Percy in saving Artemis.  However, this leads to problems between Percy and Nico.

The Titan's Curse is a very good addition to this series.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth is about Percy finding that there is an entrance to a giant labyrinth, bigger than the one in ancient Greek myths about the Minotaur, that covers the entire world.  If Kronos, Zeus' father and enemy, learns how to navigate the maze, then he could go straight under the magic borders that protect Camp Half-Bloods.

Kronos wants to take down Camp Half-Blood before he tackles the gods at Mt. Olympus.

Now, Percy must find the maker of the maze so he doesn't tell Kronos how to navigate the maze.

I think this is an amazing addition to the series.

Conclusion

This is one of my favorite series, but there is still one more book to come.  The final book in the series, The Last Olympian, is coming out May 5, 2009.  I can't wait!

For games, mythology bee, and more, follow these links:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rick Riordan Books For Children

Review of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien, is about a mouse family who lived in a cinder block in a farmyard.  Every year the farmers come and plow, destroying their home.  So, every year they go to their summer home.

But, one year, one of the kids, named Timothy, is too sick to move.  So, Mrs. Frisby, the mother, has to visit the rats of Nimh, because they are the only ones who can move the house. They're called the rats of Nimh because they were abducted by a research lab that made them a lot smarter.

This book is about getting along, and making friends.

Protagonist: Mrs. Frisby, who is trying to save her son, Timothy.  She makes friends with the crow, and gets along with the crow and the rats.  Mrs. Frisby makes friends with crow when she finds him tangled up in wire, and she untangles him before the cat can get him.  The crow suggested that Mrs. Frisby go to the owl for help with her son, and the owl sent her to the rats. 

At first, the rats were unhappy and avoiding everyone.  They were unhappy because they had to steal grain to eat and live.  But, they helped Mrs. Frisby because her husband had helped rescue them from NIMH.  As they help Mrs. Frisby, the rats find out about a great danger, the exterminator.  They help themselves as they help her.  Finally, the rats learn to adapt to their environment in the tunnel under the farm and to live with their new friends.

Antagonist: Dragon, the cat makes it difficult for them to move the house, do anything, and to get along.

Links:

IQ Testing, Animal Geniuses, and More from Rat Tales: A Unit Study

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy): Robert C. O'Brien, Zena Bernstein: Books ISBN: 0689710682 ISBN-13: 9780689710681