THE LIGHTNING THIEF

The Lightening Thief

Written by: Rick Riordan

Penguin Group Publisher, 2005

375 pages

Fantasy

A coworker suggested that I read The Lightening Thief a few months back when I was talking about watching the movie. I was told that I must not watch the movie unless I have read the book first. The Lightening Thief is about a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson who is the son of a mortal woman and the Greek God Poseidon. Percy, Annabelle (daughter of Greek God Athena), and his protector Grover (half goat and half man) set out on an adventure to find a stolen lightning bolt. The lightning bolt holds enormous amounts of power and being in the wrong hands would create huge destruction to the word.  During their journey, Percy and his friends discover their powers and encounter several mythological enemies along the way. My personal favorite encounter was when Percy came across Medusa. Medusa is a creature with snack hair and if looked in the eye will turn one onto concrete. 

Since, The Lightening Thief is a chapter book, there are no installations. However, the text is formally written. There has been a movie made about the story, but it is slightly different.  The characters in the movie are older, modern, and less personalized. In order to get a deeper incite on the characters and to learn of more details in their journeys, one must read the book.  

          The Lightening Thief has been nominated for several awards and was ranked ninth on The New York Times Best Seller list for children books. I would include this book in my classroom library, but it is a book directed more for children ages 12 and up. When read aloud to an upper elementary class I would have students' talk about character building and have the students relate with Percy or Annabelle.  With time permitting, I would also like to view the movie along with the book to have students compare and contrast between the two. Lastly, I think the book would be a great piece to use when talking about mythology.