Staff Pick
An amazing retelling of Greek mythology told from the point of view of Riordan's Heroes of Olympus character Percy Jackson. Percy narrates the text in his hilariously sarcastic yet informative way with fantastic artwork from John Rocco, illustrator of the Heroes of Olympus series and a Caldecott honoree. Recommended By Kim T., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
"A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week."
So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic — and sarcastic asides — to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that." Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume — a must for home, library, and classroom shelves — as stunning as it is entertaining.
Review
"Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast. Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude's patter: 'He'd forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn't all yelling up in his face.' Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy's gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space — as does Rocco's artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning — so readers will also meet Makaria, 'goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,' and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: 'He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime-like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.' The inevitable go-to for Percy's legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories. (Mythology. 10-14)" Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Rick Riordan (www.rickriordan.com) is the author of the # 1
New York Times best-selling
The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero;
The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two: The Son of Neptune;
The Heroes of Olympus Book Three: The Mark of Athena;
The Heroes of Olympus Book Four: The House of Hades; the
#1 New York Times best-selling
The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid;
The Kane Chronicles, Book Two: The Throne of Fire; The Kane Chronicles, Book Three: The Serpent's Shadow; as well as the five books in the #1
New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. His previous novels for adults include the hugely popular Tres Navarre series, winner of the top three awards in the mystery genre. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.
John Rocco (www.roccoart.com) studied illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and The School of Visual Arts. In addition to writing and illustrating four of his own picture books, including the Caldecott Honor-winning and New York Times bestselling Blackout, he has created all of the cover art for Rick Riordan's best-selling Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus series. He has also illustrated books by Whoopi Goldberg and Katherine Patterson. Before becoming a full-time children's book creator, he worked as an art director on "Shrek" for Dreamworks, and for Disney Imagineering. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.