The New York Times yesterday featured a very interesting profile of Rick Riordan, author of the popular Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He became a writer after spending 15 years as a middle school English and History teacher. In fact, his first novels were written when he started running out of bedtime stories for his sons. His love of learning comes through in his work: "My goal in the classroom was always to make sure they were having so much fun that they didn’t realize they were learning."
He has just finished Maze of Bones, the first book in a new series, The 39 Clues, which debuts next Tuesday.
The 39 Clues is planned as a 10-book mystery series for 8-to-12 year olds, with a different historical figure making a central appearance in each one. Scholastic is publishing it on an aggressive timetable, with plans to release one book every two to three months. In addition to writing the first book, Mr. Riordan has outlined the next nine novels, which will be written by other authors.
There is also a website and collectable cards dedicated to the series, where kids can search for clues which are not in the books. I have a feeling we'll be checking out the first book to see if it lives up to the hype. We'll let you know if it does!
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