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Author Study: Rick Riordan By: Noelle Devlin. Born on June 5, 1964. in San Antonio, TX.
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Born on June 5, 1964 in San Antonio, TX
Underground NewspaperOriginally went to Texas State ~guitarGraduated with double major in history and english from University of TexasBecame a middle school teacher (camp half blood)Mythology was his favorite subject to teachMarried with two sonsStarted writing when he was 13Became an award winning author for adult books first
Books For Adults • Big Red Tequila • The Widow’s Two Step • The Last King of Texas • The Devil Went Down to Austin • Cold Springs • South Town • Mission Road • Rebel Island
While teaching middle school his students asked him, “Why not write books for kids?” “I never had a good answer for them. It took me a long time to realize they were right. Kids are the audience I know best.”
A bedtime story started it all. Haley wanted more myths beyond what his father, a former teacher knew. Took 3 nights to tell the story to his son and after he was done his son told him he should put it into a book. Haley was diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia in 2nd grade. “Making Percy ADHD and dyslexic was my way of honoring the potential of all the kids I’ve known who have those conditions, It’s not a bad thing to be different. Sometimes, it’s the mark of being very, very talented. That’s what Percy discovers about himself in The Lightning Thief.”
A Reluctant Decision He quit teaching to become a full time writer. To keep close to education Riordan is conducting many classroom visits across the country and in Europe. Riordan says he now understands what it was like for his students to turn in essays to him because he felt very nervous when first doing a trial run of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief with his 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians • The Lightning Thief • The Sea of Monsters • Titan’s Curse • The Battle of the Labyrinth • The Last Olympian • The Demigod Files • The Ultimate Guide • The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel
Favorite Characters to Write About Tyson: Cyclops ½ brother to Percy Jackson Son of Poseidon Grover: Satyr Percy Jackson’s protector and best friend
Heroes of Olympus The Lost Hero Greek Mythology The Son of Neptune
Awards • A New York Times BestsellerSelected for Al Roker’s Book Club For Kids, the Today ShowA Best Book of 2005, School Library JournalA New York Times Notable Book of 2005A Best Book of 2005, Child MagazineBluebonnet Award Nominee 2006, Texas Library AssociationAskews Torchlight Award (UK) Winner, 2006Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book List, 2005VOYA Top Shelf Fiction List for 2005ALA Notable Book for 2005YALSA Best Book for Young Adults 2005Red House Children’s Book Award Winner (UK), 2006CCBC choice award 2006, Cooperative Children’s Book CenterA 2006 Notable Children’s Book, National Council for Teachers of EnglishA Publishers Weekly National Children’s BestsellerWarwickshire Book Award Winner (UK), 2007
The Kane Chronicles • The Red Pyramid • The Throne of Fire • Book # 3 Egyptian Mythology
“I think kids want the same thing from a book that adults want— a fast-paced story, characters worth caring about, humor, surprises, and mystery.”
39 Clues: The Maze of Bones “The book dazzles with suspense, plot twists, and snappy humor, but the real treasure may very well be the historical tidbits buried in the story.”– School Library Journal, starred review http://youtu.be/UDC26RlT8yE
http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/ http://www.percyjacksonbooks.com/
Website Resources Teacher’s Guide Map of Camp Half Blood Greek Mythology knowledge Map of the Underworld Resources for Students and Teachers Ten Signs You May Be A Half Blood Author’s Rationale for the Series News and Events Egyptian History Egyptian Games Meet the gods section
“A good book always keeps you asking questions, and makes you keep turning pages so you can find out the answers.”