By Rick Riordan

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THE LIGHTNING THIEF

• By Rick Riordan
• Published by Scholastic inc.
• Copy right 2004
• Genre Mythology
• By Christian Palmer

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RICK RIORDAN
Rick Riordan is the author of the book Percy
Jackson and the Lighting Thief. Rick Riordan was
born June 5, 1964 in San Antonio, Texas. Jason
and Brianna are Ricks parents. Brianna was a
musician and an artist. Jason was a ceramicist.
As a child, Rick Riordan got into Greek, Norse
Mythology, Fantasy, Science fiction and Mystery
stories. Rick Riordan still lives in San
Antonio, Texas with a wife and two children,
Haley and Patrick. He has one dog (a Golden
Labrador mix) and two black cats. Rick has won
five awards. They are the Edgar, Anthony,
Shamash, Mark Twain and Rebecca awards. Rick
became an author after his son Haley was
diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. He started
telling Haley bedtime stories. Haley wanted to
hear Greek myths and since Rick had been a middle
school mythology teacher, Rick new a lot of
stories. After some time his son got tired of
hearing the same old stories time and time again.
So, Haley asked his dad to take the Greek myths
and add characters to them. That is how Percy
Jackson was started. Rick eventually had his
stories published. (Author does not have his own
website)
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Interest Level and Reading Level 4.7 9 and up
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THEME
The main theme of this book is that friends stick
together and can accomplish many things. They
fought Medusa and the Furies together. When they
were all on a bus, Annabeth gave Percy her hat
(makes people invisible) so he could sneak away.
Percy stayed and he fought the Furies with them.
When Grover was going to fall into a pit with a
monster, Percy and Annabeth gave it their all to
save him. Grover helped AnnaBeth and Percy with
their dyslexia by reading signs that they had
trouble reading on their journey.
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OVERVIEW
This book is about a boy named Percy who is the
son of Poseidon. Percy has to go to the
underworld to find Zeuss master lightning bolt
that they thought Hades had stolen. Percy takes
two friends with him, Annabeth and Grover. Once
they get to the underworld, they find out Hades
didnt steal the lightning bolt. Hades attacks
them and as they were running away, the bag that
Ares had given them for the trip got heavier.
Percy checks in the bag and finds the master bolt
was in there. Percy had it all along! They got
away by using magic and figured out Ares was bad
and had a battle. Percy won and delivered the
master bolt to Zeus.
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Problem and Solution
The problem of the story is that Percy has to get
back the master lightning bolt that someone has
stolen. The solution of the story is Percy had to
fight the bad guys to keep the bolt and gave it
back to Zeus.
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Setting and Point of View
The setting takes place in many U.S. states and
the underworld. Percy travels to many states with
his friends trying to find the lightning bolt.
The point of view of the story is in the first
person. Percy is telling the story.
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Characters
Percy is a twelve year old brave boy who is the
son of Poseidon. He has the power to control
water and has dyslexia. Annabeth is a friend of
Percy and the daughter of the God Athena. She has
a magical hat that can turn her invisible and she
has dyslexia too. Grover is a satyr (half boy
half goat), whose job is to guard sons and
daughters of the gods. He has flying shoes and
wears a disguise to look more like a boy. Grover
is also Percys friend. Chiron is a centaur (half
man half horse), and is also a friend. He is one
of the leaders of Camp Half-Blood. In the real
world he disguises himself as a paralyzed Latin
teacher. Ares is a bad guy who is the God of War
and an enemy of Percy. Hades is also a bad guy
and ruler of the underworld.
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Discussion Questions
What kind of student is Percy Jackson and what
troubles does he have in school? What things
does Percy like to do at Camp Half-Blood? What
does Grover have to say to use his flying shoes?
What magic items would you like to have? What is
Ares god of? What do you think he would do with
the lightning bolt if he hadnt given it to
Percy? What is Mrs. Dots in the real world and
in the mythical world? Luke has two swords. What
metals make them up and what is different about
them? What God and Goddess would you like your
parents to be and why? How do you think Percy
felt when they thought he stole the lightning
bolt? Do you think the boys and girls liked
living at Camp Half-Blood and how would you like
to live away from your family? How could you
help a friend that has dyslexia?

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If you liked this book, youll love
Book Suggestions The Last Olympian The Battle of
the Labyrinth The Titans Curse The Sea of
Monsters By Christian Palmer