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I have a younger sister who gives me her books to read. I have read nearly all of the Percy Jackson series and I find them enjoyable. Also, consider that since

I have a younger sister who gives me her books to read. I have read nearly all of the Percy Jackson series and I find them enjoyable. Also, consider that since 1984, the percent of 13-year-olds who are weekly readers went down from 70% to 53%, and the percent of 17-year-olds who are weekly readers went from 64% to 40%, and the percent of 17-year-olds who never or hardly ever read tripled during this period, from 9% to 27% - source http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/05/13/kids-dont-read-books-because-parents-dont-read-books/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/05/13/kids-do... Why are we even slightly worried that a kid is reading a fun story about Greek mythology?

chimeracoder 12y ago
Exactly. This article repeats many of the exact same complaints that my parents and my friends' parents had about the Wishbone[0] books (not the TV series). Fortunately, reading kid-friendly adaptations of classics neither rotted my brain nor destroyed my interest in the subject matter, and I remain an avid reader today. My first exposure to Greek mythology came from (I kid you not) a reader in school[1]. It was probably intended for a 4th grade reading level. If anything, this only enhanced my interest in the matter - I read the entire D’Aulaires collection shortly afterward, studied Latin in high school, and still know many of the stories by heart. I actually read the entire Percy Jackson series recently. It's a quick read for any adult, and like many kids' cartoons from the 70s, it's filled with jokes and references that only an adult can appreciate[2]. The writing quality is a little lower than Harry Potter, but if I may, I never thought Rowling was a stellar writer anyway (her talent is in plot development). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 [1] Do they still even have these anymore? They were basically consumable workbooks that had stories that you were reading as you practice spelling, grammar, etc. [2] I actually am surprised in some sense that children enjoy the books, because to me, it seems like much of the humor would fall completely flat without a solid understanding of the stories that Riordan is adapting. Apparently he manages to make it work, but I would say that his writing is about as adult-friendly/adult-oriented as the first few books in the Harry Potter series. (As opposed to the last couple of books, which are definitely intended for a slightly older audience, and contain much darker elements).
- gknoy 12y ago
  Agreed. In middle school, my English teacher had a box of compic book (!!) adaptations of classic literature -- Murders in the Rue Morgue, etc. I had already read or heard of many of the authors, but this was a quick introduction / plot-overview of many of the rest of them. It was like finding a secret stash of new jelly bean flavors: Not the best thing, but damn if they weren't enjoyable to devour. Best of all, they gave me enough plot-summary of some of them (Fall of the House of Usher) that one can recognize references to them in OTHER works (such as Bradbury's works) which I might not previously have understood. I've re-read several of those classics later, but I still have fond memories of that box of comic books.

chimeracoder 12y ago

Exactly. This article repeats many of the exact same complaints that my parents and my friends' parents had about the Wishbone[0] books (not the TV series). Fortunately, reading kid-friendly adaptations of classics neither rotted my brain nor destroyed my interest in the subject matter, and I remain an avid reader today. My first exposure to Greek mythology came from (I kid you not) a reader in school[1]. It was probably intended for a 4th grade reading level. If anything, this only enhanced my interest in the matter - I read the entire D’Aulaires collection shortly afterward, studied Latin in high school, and still know many of the stories by heart. I actually read the entire Percy Jackson series recently. It's a quick read for any adult, and like many kids' cartoons from the 70s, it's filled with jokes and references that only an adult can appreciate[2]. The writing quality is a little lower than Harry Potter, but if I may, I never thought Rowling was a stellar writer anyway (her talent is in plot development). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_%28TV_series%29 [1] Do they still even have these anymore? They were basically consumable workbooks that had stories that you were reading as you practice spelling, grammar, etc. [2] I actually am surprised in some sense that children enjoy the books, because to me, it seems like much of the humor would fall completely flat without a solid understanding of the stories that Riordan is adapting. Apparently he manages to make it work, but I would say that his writing is about as adult-friendly/adult-oriented as the first few books in the Harry Potter series. (As opposed to the last couple of books, which are definitely intended for a slightly older audience, and contain much darker elements).

gknoy 12y ago
Agreed. In middle school, my English teacher had a box of compic book (!!) adaptations of classic literature -- Murders in the Rue Morgue, etc. I had already read or heard of many of the authors, but this was a quick introduction / plot-overview of many of the rest of them. It was like finding a secret stash of new jelly bean flavors: Not the best thing, but damn if they weren't enjoyable to devour. Best of all, they gave me enough plot-summary of some of them (Fall of the House of Usher) that one can recognize references to them in OTHER works (such as Bradbury's works) which I might not previously have understood. I've re-read several of those classics later, but I still have fond memories of that box of comic books.