Info: Riordan, R. (2005). The Lightning Thief. Narrated by Jesse Bernstein. New York: Listening Library. MP3 Audiobook. ASIN: B000A5CJSQ Format: MP3 Audiobook Plot Summary: A young delinquent boy finds out he's the son of an ancient Greek god and the only person who can stop an all out war between the gods. Audience: The vocabulary is not overly complex and matches the tone and age of the main character, which is 12 years old. The characters in this narrative are put in danger often, but the author is careful not to make these scenes too intense or too frightening. They are actually, more often than not, quite comical. Though there is some fantastical violence, the author uses a magic sword to explain that only monsters are to be harmed.
This type of light-hearted fantastical violence gives this book an appropriate range of ages 8-12. Strengths: This audiobook version narrated by Jesse Bernstein is exciting and humorous. Bernstein's voice is clear, enjoyable and matched well with the age of the main character as well as with the material. He voices each character distinctively in addition to conveying an implied tone. He also managed to voice the accents noted by the text quite well. The pace is just right being careful not to read too fast or too slow. Weaknesses: There is some implied mature content in reference to the gods activities amongst the humans. There is also some religious content that is discussed that may or may not offend. Awards: This audiobook has not won any awards as of April, 2016. Awards for The Lightning Thief: Beehive Book Award, 2007 Winner Utah Volunteer State Book Award, 2009 Winner Tennessee Young Hoosier Book Award, 2008-2009 Winner Indiana Colorado Children's Book Award, 2008 Runner Up Colorado Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 2005 Honorable Mention United States Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 2005 Winner United States Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 2007 Winner United States Georgia Children's Book Award, 2009 Winner Georgia Golden Sower Award, 2008 Winner Nebraska Grand Canyon Reader Award, 2008 Winner Arizona Indian Paintbrush Book Award, 2009 2nd Runner Up Wyoming Iowa Teen Award, 2009 Winner Iowa Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award, 2008 Winner Louisiana Maine Student Book Award, 2007 Winner Maine Mark Twain Award, 2008 1st Place Missouri Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 2008 Winner Massachusetts Nene Award, 2008 Winner Hawaii Nutmeg Children's Book Award, 2008 Winner Connecticut Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award, 2008 Winner Pennsylvania Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, 2009 Winner Illinois Sequoyah Book Award, 2008 Winner Oklahoma South Carolina Junior Book Award, 2008 Winner South Carolina Sunshine State Young Reader's Award, 2007-2008 Winner Florida Virginia Readers' Choice Award, 2008 Winner Virginia Young Reader's Choice Award, 2008 Winner Pacific Northwest Askews Torchlight Children's Book Award, 2006 Winner United Kingdom Red House Children's Book Award, 2006 Overall Winner United Kingdom Other: The Lightning Thief is book 1 in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death and begins when Liesel’s brother dies on a train with her and her mother. At her brother’s burial, she steals her first book, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” and soon after is separated from her mother and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Molching, where the majority of the book takes place. At school, Liesel is teased because she can’t read so Hans teaches her to read when she wakes up from her frequent nightmares about her brother’s death. Hans is a painter and an accordion player and also plays the accordion for her after her nightmares. Liesel grows very close with Hans and also becomes close friends with her neighbor Rudy Steiner who constantly asks her to
Being said so, parts in the book where violence such as wolf attacks, gunshots, and potential homicide is clearly depicted through simple yet powerful vocabulary. The book also contains parts about kissing and a sexual act which was depicted through a fade-to-black style. Although the book contains such scenes, the depth of the words that were used to elaborate a particular scene was not too strong and was in fact in a moderate level. The book can therefore still be suitable for young readers. At the same time, the characters within the book are also of the same age range which made it easy to understand and relate to the story as it progresses and
Mark of the Thief is a book written by Jennifer A. Nielsen. This book is the first in the “Mark of the Thief” trilogy and is set in ancient Rome around the year 400 CE. The story itself takes place primarily in the city of Rome and the mines south of Rome where the story begins.
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.
Exploring the minds of six-year-olds can be a very interesting experience. Gary Soto narrates this story as a young boy at a time when he seems to be young and foolish. Soto does a great job of showing the contrast between right and wrong through a child’s eyes. He successfully conveys the guilt of the boy through his use of imagery, repetition and contrast. He uses these tools to get the reader into the mind of the boy so that they can explore his guilt and thoughts.
Main Idea: Carter Kane, a fourteen year old boy, and his twelve year old sister, Sadie Kane, want to save their dad, and more importantly the world, from Set, the Egyptian god of Chaos. But Set sends many of his minions after them to stop them, and they also have go through many obstacles, like fighting other gods and monsters, and magicians. Also Set traps their dad in a magical coffin, which results in him being trapped with no way to get free, or getting saved by Carter or Sadie. So with the help of the Egyptian gods, Isis, Horus, and some others, they go to Phoenix, where the Red Pyramid is located, and use a spell to take control of Set and tell him to go away until he is called upon if his help is ever needed. Then they destroyed the pyramid with a powerful spell.
After hearing a brief description of the story you might think that there aren’t many good things about they story. However, this is false, there are many good things in this book that makes it a good read. First being that it is a very intriguing book. This is good for teenage readers because often times they don’t willingly want to read, and this story will force the teenage or any reader to continue the book and continue reading the series. Secondly, this is a “good” book because it has a good balance of violence. This is a good thing because it provides readers with an exciting read. We hear and even see violence in our everyday life and I believe that it is something teenagers should be exposed to. This book gives children an insig...
year old, is a boy who most can relate to. The book explores most aspects of
"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. .
A recent young adult novel has stirred up a lot of controversy in the world of writing literature. The issue is that current young adult literature is too dark for teen readers, or is merely more realistic than previous works for teens. In early June 2011, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial written by book critic Meghan Cox Gurdon says how dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part of the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from ages of 12 to 18. As I write rhetorically about this argument meaning the understanding of or approach to human interaction or based on their purpose and motivation.
Lighting is a great mystery to many. Many do not know the origin of lightning bolts nor their true strength. Lightning bolts are produced from opposite fields interacting. This can result in dangerous bolts that can have devastating results. The bolts have the capacity to injure many things, including appliances, people, forest, etc. However, although these bolts can have dangerous affects, there are prevention techniqies for lightening. These procedures can protect you, loved ones, and property. With lightning come many myths. These myths can endanger people by giving them completely wrong information. However, some myths are ancient and involve rituals of the gods. Lightning is complex in formation, protection, and myths. With lightning comes much danger, which still keeps scientists busy today studying the causes and effects of lightening.
The elements at play in the novel and film are quite remarkable for their traditionally universal appeal.3 The fates of two adolescents, one jailed the other unwilling jailer, intersect and are soon bound together in a struggle for survival at the hands of unsuspecting enemies. The filmmaker's aim was to adopt a child's unadulterated point of view in referential opposition to the surrounding adult world. Given the suspenseful plot and the exploration of the young protagonists' fears at coping with a habitat they must disavow, such an aim and narrative scheme were expected to gather much attention.4 The pre-teens Michele, the novel's principal hero, and Filippo the kidnapped child are ultimately elevated from a pit of dirt and fear, the antechamber of death, chiefly by their own heroic praxis. Yet the problematic lack of any meaningful degree of depth in the novel and film seems to lie precisely with its overly schematic construction, tailored to safely weather the otherwise unpredictable market.
Norton, D. E., & Norton. S. (2011). Through The Eyes Of a Child. An Introduction To Children’s Literature. Boston, MA, 02116: Eight-Edition Pearson Education
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, is set in present times, but with Greek and Roman mythology, and evil forces. Piper, Jason, and Leo’s quest takes place in different locations across the United States and Canada. Although they are mortal, one of their parents is a god, so they have special powers, but can still die, unlike the gods. The book lasts a full weak, the protagonists only have four days to complete their quest.
Novels of the 1950s such as Crucifixus Exam by Walter M. Miller, Jr. had a very complex style of writing that was almost poetic and often focused on something small with very much detail. On the other hand later writings like James Patterson’s Maximum Ride have almost all child characters who are quite relatable for anyone 10-17 years old. The writing is also very young, straightforward, and direct to the readers for a much more “kid-like” reading experie...