Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I picked up a Hardy Boys book recently. Percy Jackson is better.

What's wrong with casual language? It's how humans speak.

I agree with this. Pick up Happy Hollisters (ick) or the Victorian era Elsie books (warning - if you think the racism in Laura is bad you haven't seen anything yet) and you'll see that poorly written children's literature has been with us since there have been novels for kids. It's just that we usually blessedly let the bad writing go out of print.

Is Rick Riordan writing like E. B. White? No. Is there room for a kid to read both? Yes.

I mean also, E.B. White books are known for leaving kids a little frustrated. Charlotte dies, Stuart is just kind of driving around, etc. While you can argue that dealing with that unsettling ending is good for kids, that doesn't mean it's the only thing they need to read.

Does anyone here think we should only be reading Vonnegut or Dickens and adults shouldn't be reading mystery, romance, or sci fi? I've read plenty of literature, but I'll devour plenty of pop fiction. Why would I expect any different from my kid?

We want kids to find joy in reading. That means a mix as well.

So what are the well-written children's books people like?
DS has gone through all the older classics. He will read most anything and doesn't need to be given books that were written to get reluctant readers to read. He gets enough of those from school.

Anonymous wrote:I picked up a Hardy Boys book recently. Percy Jackson is better.

What's wrong with casual language? It's how humans speak.

I agree with this. Pick up Happy Hollisters (ick) or the Victorian era Elsie books (warning - if you think the racism in Laura is bad you haven't seen anything yet) and you'll see that poorly written children's literature has been with us since there have been novels for kids. It's just that we usually blessedly let the bad writing go out of print.

Is Rick Riordan writing like E. B. White? No. Is there room for a kid to read both? Yes.

The author also specifically wrote the books with his son in mind. His son has ADHD and Dyslexia which is why Percy has those conditions as well.

If the books connect with kids, great, honestly.

it's written in Percy's voice. 12 year olds aint' that deep.

I picked up a Hardy Boys book recently. Percy Jackson is better.

What's wrong with casual language? It's how humans speak.

If you'd like your kid to read something else, give them something else to read. If they can't or won't read it, then Percy Jackson is the right fit for them.

As the parent of a kid who does read a lot of older stuff, there's value in your kid talking like modern kids do. Mine often doesn't and there are social consequences.

Terribly written.

It's not great literature. But it's interesting to the kids. If the goal is getting kids to read, then it will suffice. But you're correct. It's not E.B. White.

When people say it's great, it's great because kids WILL read it.

OP the prose isn't literary. The feature of the series is how impressively he integrates such a wide body of Greek and Roman mythology into the story.

I actually think Percy Jackson is better than a lot of what’s out there.

I read the Land of Stories series with my child and there was so much poorly written dialogue. It got me out of the story to read clunky paragraphs of He said X, then she said Y, then he said Z.

Say what you will about JK Rowling, but the Harry Potter books actually flowed well and the prose was enjoyable.

My daughter hated it.

Anonymous wrote:My kids read the series but I haven’t, but I will say that modern literature for kids is a huge step down in quality from what I read when I was their age. It’s really disappointing.

Apparently back in the day the folks writing the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series for kids would intentionally put in higher-level vocabulary so that kids would go look up up those words and expand what they knew. I’m doubtful anyone does that now.

I’m reading The Egypt Game and it’s great. I love reading children’s chapter books as an adult (Harry Potter series, EB White, The Giver, even fairly juvenile books like The Fudge Hatcher and Beezus/Ramona series). I wonder if there are similar quality books that have been published within the last 10-20 years that posters would recommend?

My kids read the series but I haven’t, but I will say that modern literature for kids is a huge step down in quality from what I read when I was their age. It’s really disappointing.

Apparently back in the day the folks writing the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series for kids would intentionally put in higher-level vocabulary so that kids would go look up up those words and expand what they knew. I’m doubtful anyone does that now.

I’ll stick with it if people say it’s great kids lit, but after so many rave reviews, I’m disappointed. My kid started reading Ch 1 to me last night and it’s all conversational narration with overly casual language. E.B White it ain’t:


“Yeah. You could say that.”

“Mr. Brunner was this middle aged guy.”


I know I’m pretty old fashioned but I don’t need more sources encouraging my kid to start using “Yeah” and calling adults “this guy.” Does it get better? Will this series still be recommended reading 30 years from now?