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This image is of Riordan’s upcoming release:  The Trials of Apollo:  The Burning Maze.  It is set to be released on May 1st of 2018.  The first novel of this series, The Hidden Oracle, was released in May of 2016 and continues Riordan’s ongoing theme of adventure within modern day mythology.  This series follows the Greek god Apollo after he has been cast down onto Earth as a mortal for punishment by his father Zeus.

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This is an image of Riordan’s imprint Rick Riordan Presents.  Disney officially announced the creation of the imprint in September of 2016.  The goal of the imprint is for authors of different backgrounds to write stories incorporated with their own culture’s mythology.  Riordan created the imprint to satisfy readers’ interests about the different types of mythology that Riordan is not well versed in as well as to allow these different authors to express and teach readers about their different cultures.  The first two installments of the imprint will be released later in 2018.

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This image is of Rick Riordan and his family.  He has a wife named Becky and two sons named Haley, the oldest, and Patrick, the youngest.  Riordan’s series Percy Jackson and the Olympians began as bedtime stories that he would tell to his son Haley.  It wasn’t until Haley suggested he create the stories again as a novel that he actually decided to.

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This image is of a promotional poster for the second musical adaptation of Riordan’s book Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.  The first musical adaptation was an hour long show that premiered in 2014.  In March of 2017 though, a new expanded version of the play was created and was immensely popular.

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This image is of an interview Riordan had while on set of the movie adaptation of his book

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief that was released in 2010.  Although the movie is based on the novel itself, the plotlines differ immensely.  Riordan has addressed this on the FAQ page of his website explaining that even though it is based off of his novel, since he sold the rights to the production company, they can basically do whatever they want with it.  Riordan admits he has never even seen the movies himself.

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I believe that there is a 70% to 30% odds split that favors students reading Riordan’s novels independently rather than in school.  Riordan’s novels would be considered more entertainment based rather than intellectually driven.  I think it would be a bit more likely that students in primary school might be assigned to read his novels or novels like his for school assignments, but as the students get older the likelihood of his novels being read in school would go down.  As stated in an article from The Guardian (2013), primary school is much more open about what students are reading because it is deemed positive for students to read at all, but once they get to the secondary level the curriculum takes over and students’ choices are limited.  It is also thought that classical literature seems to have deeper and more complex themes than YA novels, as defined by Simmons’ (2016) article.  Simmons (2016) believes that adolescents should be more emotionally invested in the themes that are present within classic novels such as The Scarlet Letter, Othello, or The Lord of the Flies.  Novels such as Riordan’s would not be able to evoke such dark themes as the ones previously stated which is why it is most likely more enjoyable for students to read on their own and not a suitable classroom novel.

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I believe that the target age range for Riordan’s novels would be 5th-8th graders (11-14 year olds).  Riordan’s novels typically have protagonists within that age range, and the plot lines and themes are bordering on complex, but are not too complex that they would be uninteresting.  The nature of his novels are extremely adventurous and fantasy based; they are centered on the mental development of his characters within that age range and how their adventures allow them to mature.  Young adults that are age 11-14 are in a stage of development themselves both physically and mentally.  By having a character as an example that they can connect would make their experience more bearable and seem more normal; they would feel more comfortable in their awkward stages of development.  Like I stated before, the themes of his novels are not terribly complex, so there is not a lot of deep thought that has to be put into reading and understanding them.  This is perfect for young adults of that range because instead of trying to understand the implied messages within the story they can simply enjoy the reading.  There are elements of the stories that do require more thought on the reader’s part to truly understand such as foreshadowing or inferences that have to be made to understand the plot, but it is implemented in a way that makes it noticeable yet not obvious to the reader.  This style allows the reader to expand on their knowledge and develop their interpretation skills.

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Children’s Choice Book Awards - 2011

http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbc-book-lists/2011-winners/

The Children’s Choice Book Awards are given annually and are voted upon by kids and teens of all ages.  Riordan was the winner of the Fifth and Sixth Grade Book of the Year Award in 2011 for his book The Red Pyramid as well as the Author of the Year for his book The Lost Hero in that same year.

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Hampshire Book Award - 2007

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/sls/sls-reading/hampshire-book-award.htm

The Hampshire Book Award is given annually to paperback books published for the 11-14 age range.  The judges are eighth grade students.  Riordan received the award in 2007 for his book Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

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Stonewall Book Award - 2017

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/01/magnus-chase-and-gods-asgard-hammer-thor-and-if-i-was-your-girl-win-2017

Riordan was awarded the Stonewall Book Award in 2017 for his book Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard:  The Hammer of Thor.  The award is given annually for books that highlight the LGBTQ experience for children and young adults.

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Riordan, R.  (2008).  The battle of the labyrinth.  New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

In the fourth novel of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and company set out to search the hidden Labyrinth for the inventor Daedalus.  They must get to him before Luke does or else he will find direct access to Camp Half-Blood and attack.  Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson head into the Labyrinth and find Hephaestus’ forge.  Hephaestus tells Percy that the only way to find Daedalus is to use the help of his mortal friend Rachel.  With Rachel’s help, they find Daedalus’ workshop and he tells them that they are too late, Luke already has what he needs.  They go through the Labyrinth once again to get back to camp, but they find the Titan fortress and they discover that Kronos has come to life using the body of Luke.  They go back to camp to prepare for battle when Kronos’ army emerges.  They fought and almost lost until Grover scared the monsters off with his call from the power of the god Pan.  After the battle, camp goes back to normal for the summer.  Percy goes back to Manhattan and is visited by Poseidon who gives him a sand dollar and Nico who tells him that he has discovered a way to bring down Kronos.

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Riordan, R.  (2007).  The titan’s curse.  New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

The third book of the Percy Jackson series brings the Hunters to Camp Half-Blood.  The Hunters are the maidens who serve Artemis, goddess of the Hunt.  After they have returned to camp without either Annabeth, who disappeared after she latched onto the back of a monster, or Artemis, who went to hunt a monster who could destroy the gods, Zoe proclaims that Artemis has been kidnapped and that she must be saved.  Zoe, Thalia, Grover, Bianca, a new half-blood who became a Hunter, and Percy, travel to California again to save Annabeth and Artemis from Luke and someone called The General.  Once they find Artemis and Annabeth, they discover that The General is the Titan, Atlas, who is also Zoe’s father.  Thalia, enraged at her childhood friend Luke, pushes him down into an abyss and Percy tricks Atlas into returning to his place holding up the sky, but not before he dealt a finishing blow to Zoe who passes away.  Once they are back at camp, Percy must face Nico, Bianca’s brother, and tell him that she was lost on the quest.  Nico cannot handle the news and unleashes a threatening power revealing that he is the son of Hades.

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Riordan, R.  (2005).  The lightning thief.  New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

In the first installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, 12-year-old Percy Jackson finds himself at Camp Half-Blood.  A camp for children who are the children of Ancient Greek gods who are called demigods.  While there, he discovers that he is the son of Poseidon.  Almost as soon as he arrives at camp Percy has to leave to go on a journey to the Underworld in search of Zeus’ missing lightning bolt.  Percy and his two friends Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, journey across the country from New York to California to retrieve the bolt from Hades.  Upon arriving in the Underworld, they discover that Hades does not have the bolt, but it magically appears in Percy’s backpack that he received from the Greek god of war, Ares.  After battling with Ares and returning the bolt to Zeus on Mt. Olympus, Percy reveals to Zeus and his father Poseidon that the Titan Lord Kronos was behind the theft of the lightning bolt and that he convinced demigod Luke, son of Hermes, to steal it in an attempt to start a war among the gods.

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Riordan, R.  (2006).  The sea of monsters.  New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

In the second book of the Percy Jackson series, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood for the summer.  Upon returning to camp with Annabeth and his friend Tyson from school, they discover that the camp has been overrun by monsters.  The pine tree that was created by the sacrifice of Thalia, daughter of Zeus, that protected the camp from monsters has been poisoned.  The only thing that can save the tree is the Golden Fleece that is hidden in the Sea of Monsters.  Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson sneak out of Camp Half-Blood and journey to the Sea of Monsters to retrieve the fleece and rescue Grover.  Upon arriving at the island that Grover is trapped on, they find Clarisse, daughter of Ares, there who has been captured alongside Grover by the cyclops Polyphemus.  They manage to outsmart Polyphemus with the help of Tyson, who they believed to be dead, and return to camp with the Golden Fleece to restore Thalia’s tree.  After the Fleece has healed the tree for a few days, they find that it did more than rid the tree of its poison, but it also brought Thalia back to life.

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The Guardian.  (2013).  Should more YA fiction be read in schools?.  Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/23/discussion-young-adult-fiction-school

Simmons, R.  (2016).  Literature’s emotional lessons.  Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/educating-teenagers-emotions-through-literature/476790/

The Lightning Thief (musical).  (n.d.)  Retrieved February 15, 2018 from the Lightning Thief (musical) Wiki:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lightning_Thief_(musical)

Riordan, R.  (n.d.)  Frequently asked questions.  Retrieved from http://rickriordan.com/about/frequently-asked-questions/

Corbett, S.  (2016).  Disney announces new rick riordan imprint.  Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/71466-disney-announces-new-rick-riordan-imprint.html