The Lightning Thief
By: Rick Riordan
So…What’s It About?
• Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding
school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles.
Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount
Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages
of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life.
And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master
lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime
suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days
to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring
peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed
on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the
true thief: he must come to terms with the father who
abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which
warns him of the betrayal of a friend; and unravel a
treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Who’s Rick Riordan?
• Taught English and History for 15 years!
• Now he writes full-time; he writes mystery books for adults and
kids.
• He lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and two children.
• Riordan created The Lightning
Thief as a bedtime story for his 7 yearold son!
• Before publishing the novel, Riordan let
some of his middle-school students “test-drive”
the novel. He was nervous, but they loved it!
• Other books by Rick Riordan:
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The Sea of Monsters
The Titan’s Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
• A feature film for The Lightning Thief is in the works.
Thoughts to Ponder…
• Do you believe in anything that science can’t
prove – such as magic or ghosts? Why or why
not?
• Have you ever been to summer camp? If so,
describe what you did or did not like about it.
If not, imagine and describe what you think a
typical summer camp would be like.
• If you could have one magical power, what
would it be and why?
Preview & Predictions
• Scan the Table of Contents.
• Pick the most interesting/intriguing chapter
title you can find.
• Write a 3-5 sentence summary of what you
think might happen in that chapter.
Mt. Olympus Moves From Athens…to
Rome…to New York City!
Who are the Greek Gods?
• In your groups, work cooperatively to fill in as
much information as you can (at least 2 or 3
brief facts) about each Greek god or goddess.
You will only be given 8 minutes to complete
this task, so work efficiently!
• http://www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html