Adam Furgang - Rick Riordan

Dedicated to BenKeep on reading!

Published in 2013 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2013 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Furgang, Adam.

Rick Riordan/Adam Furgang.1st ed.

p. cm.(All about the author)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4488-6937-4 (library binding)

1. Riordan, RickJuvenile literature. 2. Authors, American20th centuryBiographyJuvenile literature. I. Title.

PS3568.I5866Z67 2012

813.6dc23

[B]

2011044131

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #S12YA: For further information, contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York, at 1-800-237-9932.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I n February of 2010, fans of The Lightning Thief the first volume in author Rick Riordans Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of young adult novelsswarmed movie theaters across the United States to view the movie adaptation. The film earned $58.7 million in its first two weeks. While thats a good showing for a movie, its popularity sparked an even more spectacular event. All five books in the Riordans Percy Jackson series reached USA Todays top ten list during the same week. Ticket sales drove up book sales for the rest of the series, and Riordan (rhymes with fire den) became more popular than ever.

With Riordans Kane Chronicles, The 39 Clues, and the Heroes of Olympus series in the works, there was a lot riding on the success of the Percy Jackson books and film adaptations. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was sparking young peoples interest in ancient Greek mythology. The gods and demigods of the Greek world were being brought into modern times by Riordans stories, and teens and preteens were loving it.

Similarly, once published, the Kane Chronicles sparked teens interest in Egyptian mythology. The 39 Clues series was created along with Scholastic Books and became an instant hit, with film adaptations in the works as well. Toys and games surrounding all of these series have been sold everywhere. Everything Rick Riordan works on seems to be devoured instantly by eager young people all around the world who are willing to learn and are excited to hear a great story well told.

Rick Riordan attends events where he can meet with fans and sign his latest books. His novels have sold millions of copies around the world.

So how did someone who grew up as a reluctant reader, someone who didnt like books, go on to find such enormous success as a writer and storyteller? As a child, Riordan thought books were too difficult to read and, in the end, not very interesting or worth the effort. At first, he wasnt one of those kids who would eagerly devour book after book and become lost in elaborate fictional worlds spread across entire series. It wasnt until Riordan was in middle school that he gained an interest in reading. Yet today, he is one of the most popular and well-loved young adult authors in North America and worldwide.

While Riordan did eventually grow to love both reading and writing, it was a long journey for him. When he noticed his own young son struggling with reading, Riordan was able to capture his attention in the same way that he had finally been hooked through an interest in the otherworldly appeal of mythology. It was from these bedtime stories that he told to his son that the Percy Jackson series was born.

The series not only helped capture his sons imagination, it also started a very successful career for Riordan as a young adult writer. Today, not only do Percy Jackson fans eagerly await another movie installment of the best-selling books, but increasing hype surrounds the film adaptations of the Kane Chronicles and the 39 Clues, too. But behind all of these impressive tokens of fame and success lie very humble beginnings. The stories millions of children love today came from the mind of just one man. One man who was trying to put his son to bed at night and get him interested in school can be thanked for the success of Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, the 39 Clues, and the Heroes of Olympus series.

CHAPTER ONE

A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

R ick Riordan was born on June 5, 1964, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born into a family of creative teachers. His mother taught high school art, but she also had a passion for music. His father taught vocational technology (vo-tech) but loved making ceramics. Vo-tech classes help high school students learn a specific trade, like plumbing, welding, construction, auto mechanics, electronics, or information technology. Even Riordans grandparents were teachers. With all of these teachers and creative people in his family, its no wonder Riordan grew up to eventually become first a teacher and then a fiction writer.

tolkien overcomes a reluctant reader

Rick Riordan was a quiet and thoughtful child. According to an interview with AdLit.org, Riordan said about his childhood, I would be more likely to play with Legos or build robots or make imaginary worlds than I was to be outside tossing a football around. One might assume, given his solitary and quiet nature, that Riordan was interested in reading as a child. After all, he was imaginative, would eventually become a writer and teacher, and was even raised by teachers. Ironically, however, Riordan did not enjoy reading when he was very young. He was what might be referred to as a late bloomer in terms of reading. As a young child, he found that books bored him more than they interested him. He could not relate to the stories he read or the characters that he read about.

Riordans middle school years finally opened his eyes to the rich creative and imaginative possibilities of literature. The first books that Riordan could remember really enjoying were those in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The fantasy series, written by J. R. R. Tolkien, is one of the most famous and well-loved fantasy sagas of all time. The epic tale follows a group of unlikely heroes as they struggle to destroy a powerful ring and its creator before the entire world is destroyed by their evil power.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien was the first reading experience Riordan could remember enjoying as a child. The books were later made into blockbuster Hollywood movies. Gollum, shown here, was one of the characters in the film.

Riordan could not put these books down, a new experience for him as a reader. Before encountering Tolkien, he found reading to be a struggle and a chore. No story had captured his attention like The Lord of the Rings. The three books in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, were published in the 1950s. They continued and expanded upon the story first started in Tolkiens 1937 novel The Hobbit. In this complex saga, the heroes were loveable, flawed, and fascinating, and the villains were evil but darkly captivating. The seriesand the fictional, fantastical world created by it riveted Riordans attention and made him excited about reading for the first time.