Add this to your List Oprah!

I have a confession to make … Over the past few nights, I have taken Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief home with me from school. Of course I asked my students if I could borrow it first.
In the beginning it stemmed from my inquisitiveness, but each page sucked me further and further into the journey. As my students dispersed around the room during independent reading time, I heard students discussing whose turn it was to read the book. Wow I thought to myself, students are actually arguing about whose turn it is to read this book. I made a vow right then and there to investigate what constitutes a piece of literature students would quarrel over.
I have to say, I did enjoy reading books when I was younger; however, the thought of me bickering with my best friend in fourth grade over whose turn it was to read the Berenstain Bear’s series or Clifford the Big Red Dog sounds irrational. Nothing against Mama Bear or Papa Bear, but I could never really find a book series that was truly gripping.
The Lightning Thief is exactly that series. Riordan has taken my love of Greek mythology and blended it with a modern day protagonist. When I talk with my students about Percy Jackson’s adventures, their eyes light up as they retell even the most minute detail. Character motivation, setting, and conflict/resolution are discussed between students without them even realizing their powerful thinking. I can’t wait to finish the first book so I can move on through the series.
In the meantime, I will cross my fingers and hope that I get cast in the movie version of the book (perhaps the chapter, “I Accidentally Vaporized My Pre-algebra Teacher”).

Post made by March 2009 writer, Hal Schwartz.