Reviewed by: Sydney, Age 12 from Rhode Island

Rating:

I just finished the book ‘The Sea of Monsters’! I <3′ed it!!!!! It was so good. I drove in the car for like 4 hours in the car and i couldn’t put it down. I love the series! I’m only on the 3rd book but I’m so excited to finish the whole series!!! I love the books and Iwould highly recommend the series!!!

<3 Sydney!

WARNING: This is NOT the cover, just something I threw together for fun. Thank goodness too, because this is pretty hideous!*

Author Rick Riordan tapped into ancient Greek mythology for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and now he’ll be bringing a bit of ancient Egyptian mythology to our bookshelves. Gee, I wonder what Rick Riordan’s favorite subject might have been in school! (Highlight for my guess: history. duh.)

Book publisher Disney-Hyperion has recently announced the first book in Mr. Riordan’s new series, and it’s titled: The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid. Here’s the description from the press release:

When a magical accident unleashes the Egyptian gods on the modern world, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane discover that they are the only ones who can put things right. As descendants of the greatest Egyptian magicians, they must find a way to defeat the evil god Set before he can destroy them.

The Percy Jackson series is amazing, so I can’t wait! (But really, I have to. It’s not like I can break into Rick Riordan’s study and steal the manuscript. Or can I… Yeah, no.)

Anyway… So as I was saying — I can’t wait! Also, it’s early, but just throwing this out there, Mr. Riordan… perhaps a crossover series?

— Nancy

* What’s that you say, Mr. Disney-Hyperion Publisher Man? You like my mock cover design? Yes, I would love to design the real cover of the new series! Why, of course I’ll direct the movie adaptations too! That’s so nice of you to — what? I’m in day dream land? And talking to myself? Darn it.

The first book in The Underland Chronicles

In my last post, I railed against the claim that Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is a rip-off of Harry Potter. But I have to admit that when I read PJTO, I did notice some similarities to a different series: the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins.

Don’t get me wrong — I am in no way suggesting that PJ is a copy of Underland, or even that one is better than the other. The truth is, PJ and Underland currently tie for my second favorite series (after HP, of course).

But I bring this up because I think Underland doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, and so there’s a good chance you’ve never read the books. Well, fear not — Kidsmomo to the rescue! I’m here to tell you that if you’re a PJTO fan, you should definitely give Underland a try.

What, my word’s not enough to convince you? Well, here’s a side-by-side comparison to entice you:

So, what are you waiting for? Go underground and give Gregor a chance! (And after you read The Underland Chronicles and love it, please remember that I accept thanks in the form of cash and/or chocolate.)

— Karen

Nancy and I are huge Harry Potter fans, so we of course made plans to see the new movie on opening night. Then a miracle happened and we got tickets to an advance screening. (Yes, there was literal jumping up and down in joy. Don’t judge us.)

The only problem, as I learned later, is that by seeing an advance screening with no previews, Nancy and I missed out on what sounds like a pretty awesome book-to-big-screen pre-show: the theatrical release of the trailers for New Moon (based on the second Twilight book) and The Lightning Thief (based on the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series).

Thank goodness for the internet! When I realized that the trailers were out, I immediately dropped everything to search for them online (uh, please don’t tell my boss, since I did this at work). Well, not only did I locate the previews, but I also came across plenty of commentary from viewers.

The reaction to the New Moon preview was predictably fanatical. For example: MTV.com posted a shot-by-shot recap of the trailer — even though the full video is less than 2 minutes long! (The re-cap even includes commentary on how impressive Bella’s gigantic birthday cake looks. Now I’m not saying that makes you obsessed, but… actually, yes I am.)

But I was surprised by the online response to the Percy Jackson trailer. Basically, lots of people thought it looked like a rip-off of the Harry Potter movies. What do you think?

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