Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
RSSThis article originally appeared in SLJ's Extra Helping. <a href="https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/subscribe.asp?screen=pi8">Sign up now!</a>
Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 01/25/2010
A New Film Hero: Percy Jackson
Devotees of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” books (Disney/Hyperion) are gearing up to see their beloved hero and his escapades re-imagined as a feature film. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (PG), a live-action adventure/fantasy adapted from the first novel (2005), premieres in theaters on February 12, 2010.
Director Chris Columbus is no stranger to bringing blockbuster books for young people to the big screen, having overseen the first two installments of the “Harry Potter” series for Warner Bros. (2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Presented by 20th Century Fox, The Lightning Thief looks to be packed with fast-paced suspense and thrilling visual effects.
Logan Lerman stars as Percy Jackson, here a high school student (in the book he’s 12 years old), who discovers that the gods of Mount Olympus are alive and well in 21st-century America, and that he is—amazingly—the demigod son (half mortal, half god) of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Not only are assorted mythological monsters popping up everywhere, but Zeus’s (Sean Bean) lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the number-one suspect in the crime. He’s also worried about his mother (Catherine Keener), who has suddenly disappeared. Caught between squabbling divinities, Percy and his teenage friends—Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario), the demigod daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood (Brandon T. Jackson), a satyr—embark on an exciting quest to track down the lightning bolt, save Percy’s mother, and unravel a far-reaching mystery to prevent a war between the gods.
The cast also includes Pierce Brosnan as the hero-training Chiron, Uma Thurman as a sultry Medusa, and Melina Kanakaredes as Athena. Impatient fans can catch movie previews at the official Web site or hook into the hype (articles, blogs, links, and more) at the unofficial “Percy Jackson Movies” fansite or the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” wikia. A film adaptation of Riordan’s second novel, The Sea of Monsters (Disney/Hyperion, 2006), is in the works for a 2012 release.
Book Tie-ins
The movie is guaranteed to stir up interest in and win new enthusiasts for Riordan’s book series, so be sure that you have plenty of copies of all five installments. Disney/Hyperion has recently released a media tie-in paperback edition of The Lightning Thief (2010) with a movie-poster cover. Aglow in steely grays and washed-out shadows, the photographic image depicts a water-bound Percy (Lerman), confidently hefting a sizzling lightning bolt, with the nighttime New York City skyline twinkling in the distance. Filled with a sense of power as yet unleashed, this dramatic cover will grab the eye of film fans and invite them into the rest of the series. Librarians and teachers may be interested in the discussion guide available at the Hyperion Web site.
Also new from Disney/Hyperion is the fun-to-browse Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide (2010). Presented in an easy-to-hold size, this colorfully illustrated volume features a cover with magnetic-flap enclosure and enticing holographic images. Inside, lively chapters introduce Percy Jackson and his world, providing the scoop on life at Camp Half-Blood, a directory of gods and spirits, a bestiary, a look at the Labyrinth and the Underworld, a guide to divinely enhanced objects, and a compendium of important individuals. The book is packed with single- and double-page illustrations and smaller insets showing the various characters, as well as scattered reproductions of real artifacts. The tone is light and entertaining and includes an occasional questionnaire (“Ten Signs That You May Be a Half-Blood” or a personality quiz to determine which immortal might be your parent). References to and quotes from the novels appear throughout, along with some background about Greek mythology. Trading cards are included but can easily be put aside for circulation. This breezy guidebook will appeal to book and movie fans alike.
Pub Info
RIORDAN, Rick. The Lightning Thief. Film tie-in ed. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-3494-7.
_____. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide. illus. by Antonio Caparo, et al. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-2171-8.
ea vol: Disney/Hyperion. 2010.
For suggestions of picture books, fiction titles, and graphic novels on the adventures of the gods and goddesses, see Joy Fleishhacker's article, "Superheroes of Ancient Greece." Her Egods! Bringing Greek Myths into the 21st Century for Middle Grade Readers offers a list of fiction titles starring likable youngsters who find themselves immersed in the Greek pantheon. In Jennifer M. Brown’s interview with George O’Connor, Graphic Gods and Goddesses, the graphic artist talks about his new series on “The Olympians.”
