Percy Jackson Follow-Up Series age appropriate for 7yo?
August 8, 2024 6:03 PM   Subscribe

My 7 year-old going into grade 2 finished reading the main Percy Jackson series. He wants the two other series. But Percy is 16 years old by the end of the first series. I'm worried that the follow-up series will be too mature for him. But they're shelved in the same section so presumably they're for the same age/at the same level? Is there anyone whose read these and can comment on their content?

He got the first 3 books for his birthday from a classmate so I didn't really vet them and when he finished reading those I got him the next two to complete the series. He's really into them and has done some side-reading about greek mythology and is pushing hard for the other series.

I gave him the first Harry Potter book for his birthday but held the line there with the rule that he can have one for each birthday, but I completely failed to see this coming and somebody else gave him the books and I just let him read them and once he was three books in I figured i might as well let him finish.

Percy is now a full blown almost adult teenager. Presumably he's going to be having almost-adult adventures. But then again, the books are still filed in the bookstore with the younger kid books so maybe there's something I'm missing here and these books are totally fine for a little kid?

I did not expect to lose editorial control this early, even though by this age I was definitely choosing my own library books with no oversight so I'm not sure why.
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Media & Arts (11 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Commonsensemedia.org is good for this. It sounds as if it ought to be something dreadful and conservative, but actually it’s just a site that rates popular children’s media across a variety of relevant categories (e.g. violence, positive messages, diversity, sex, drugs) and lets you draw your own conclusions about the title’s appropriateness for your particular child. They do provide rough age recommendations.
posted by ceramicspaniel at 6:19 PM on August 8, 2024 [6 favorites]


Kanopy has a series called Atlantis that's a lot of fun for that age. A guy goes back through a time portal and meets Hercules. Shenanigans ensue.
posted by Enid Lareg at 7:45 PM on August 8, 2024 [1 favorite]


Here are all the Rick Riordan books reviewed by Common Sense Media, an excellent resource for just these kinds of questions, as ceramicspaniel mentioned. They also have lists of suggested titles related to ones you look up.

Your local library will have something similar, if you look up a book. You can find recommended titles, often at the bottom of the catalog record.

I blew through all the Percy Jackson books when my kids were reading them. Do you ever read the same books as your kids? It can be pretty fun to read some of the same stuff. Also, while I am librarian, I am not a children's librarian, but I do want to say to go ahead and let your kid read through series when they're into them. I don't really see a great reason to pace them out. If the books get too hard or complex, kids usually stop reading them and turn to something else.

Reading this much is really good for your kid. I say let him loose in the middle grades section of the library.
posted by bluedaisy at 9:27 PM on August 8, 2024 [2 favorites]


Best answer: If he’s managed the main series, the rest don’t get more adult than that in sex/drugs/violence. They deal with grief and anger and betrayal etc but not in a YA romance way - he tends to be about family and friendships with romance a distant and PG-level third. Riordan has several other series and he also does a great Riordan Presents imprint thing where he puts his name on up and coming POC writers in different mythologies. We’ve enjoyed all that we’ve tried so far.

Thirding Commonsensemedia as an invaluable resource. The parent/kid reviews are helpful too. I also like doesthedogdie for pre-screening unfamiliar media as a parent - they cover a lot of possible things.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 12:33 AM on August 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


I haven't read Percy Jackson because it's just not my thing, but I remember my niece loving Warrior Cats series, there are tons of books and arcs within them, I read some and found them quite enjoyable. My niece was 7-10 when she loved those books and she adored them to the point we got her plushies and made smartshow 3d birthday videos with these cats. I've heard the series got religious closer to the end, but it wasn't a problem for the first 5 or 6 arcs.
posted by torturedpoet at 4:07 AM on August 9, 2024


The Lionboy trilogy (Corder) and The Wild Robot (Brown) were big hits when my kids were that age. They also participated in their elementary school’s Battle of the Books, so there are lists of books that are solidly good reads while being G-PG.
posted by childofTethys at 4:34 AM on August 9, 2024


There are some "extra" books in the main Percy Jackson series that might scratch the itch, if you want to delay the decision on the other series for a bit. I enjoyed the Demi-God Files; haven't read Camp Half-Blood Confidential but my students dig it. There are also two books where Percy retells the base stories of Greek mythology and heroes. They can be a little graphic - like it talks about Kronos eating his kids - but that's the myth, right? I felt like it balances out those aspects of the myths by showing Percy's reaction. I often read the same books as my kid and then we'll chat to contextualize them, especially if they're aimed at slightly older audiences.

A completely unrelated series that he might enjoy is the Explorer Academy series by National Geographic. They draw in mythology and history from various cultures, and they take place all over the planet. Plus there's a mystery, a "kids at special camp/school" element (the school has a dorm ship that travels the world!) and some fun riddle/code-breaking action. I don't remember any romance or more teenaged elements beyond maybe a crush in the first five, but I haven't finished the series yet. Amari and the Night Brothers is another book I recommend to the kids at school post-Percy.
posted by Ann Telope at 5:46 AM on August 9, 2024


I bet a librarian would know. You can reach them on the phone if you can’t go in person
posted by toodleydoodley at 7:35 AM on August 9, 2024


Best answer: I found the content/tone of all the Percy Jackson stories pretty consistent across the three series. I think my kid was 8/9 when we blew through them all and didn't have any concerns with the content. As dorothyisunderwood mentioned, the more "adult" topics that come up are around grief/anger/betrayal than anything else.
posted by machine at 7:38 AM on August 9, 2024


Nothing like Percy Jackson, but what about the Redwall books by Brian Jacques? I am biased because the food descriptions in those books make me swoon, but there are at least 20 titles so it might keep your reader busy for a minute.
posted by kyraU2 at 8:08 AM on August 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. This is pretty much what I wanted to know:

If he’s managed the main series, the rest don’t get more adult than that in sex/drugs/violence. They deal with grief and anger and betrayal etc but not in a YA romance way - he tends to be about family and friendships with romance a distant and PG-level third.

I found the content/tone of all the Percy Jackson stories pretty consistent across the three series.


I suspect he's probably a little young for this: As dorothyisunderwood mentioned, the more "adult" topics that come up are around grief/anger/betrayal than anything else. but it probably goes over his head a little, so it's ok. This is the benefit of having reading ability and comprehension beyond emotional development, I suppose.

I do read some books he's into. I love the Wild Robot books and can't wait for the movie. And I think I would really like the Mr. Lemoncello's Library books if he would get into those, but right now it's Percy Jackson and that's not really my thing. I've tried the audiobooks and heard enough to kind of get the gist and I watched the movies with him after he read them, but honestly I zoned out on both. They're just not my thing.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:27 AM on August 9, 2024


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