Rick Riordan Research Paper

Rick Riordan is an American author who has written over twenty novels for young readers. Some of Rick Riordan’s well known works are the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus, The Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. He has received various awards for his novels, including a two-time Mark Twain Award, and the Children's Choice Books Awards for Author of the Year in 2011. He is also a #1 New York Times best selling author. I chose to write about Rick Riordan because I wanted to gain more knowledge about him and his works. Rick Riordan’s books are exceptionally interesting and have taught me a great deal about Greek mythology. Without reading his series, I may have never known or understood mythology. Another reason I chose him is simply because I love his books, primarily his Percy Jackson Series. This series tells of a demigod boy named Percy Jackson who is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and the adventures he undergoes with his friends, who are also demigods. The infatuation I have for his novels is an additional explanation as to why I chose to write about Rick Riordan and his works. Rick Riordan was born June 5th, 1964, and raised in San Antonio, Texas. There, he graduated from Alamo Heights High School. After High School, he attended North Texas State striving to become a guitarist. He later transferred to the University of Texas in Austin and studied English and History. Riordan then received his teaching certifications from the University of Texas in San Antonio, in those areas of study. Before becoming a novelist, Rick Riordan was a teacher. He taught English and Social Studies for eight years at Presidio Hill School in San Francisco. Rick was quite happy with teaching, but when he and his wife moved from San Francisco to Boston, he began to miss and long for Texas. He then decided to write a novel, set in his hometown in Texas, as a relief from missing home so …show more content…
They got married on June 5, 1985. The couple chose to marry on this certain day because it was the day they were both born. Together they had two sons, Patrick Riordan and Haley Riordan. Haley was the inspiration for one of Rick Riordan’s most successful and famous series, the Percy Jackson Series. This inspiration came from bedtime stories Rick was telling his son Haley. Haley asked Rick to tell him bedtime stories about the Greek gods and heroes, with which Rick was eager to comply since he had already taught Greek myths. When he ran out of myths, his son was disappointed and asked if he could make up something new with the same characters.This triggered the thought of Percy Jackson, and once Rick finished telling the story, his son suggested that he write a novel. Haley Riordan also led to the formulation of Percy Jackson having ADHD and dyslexia. Haley was being tested for learning disabilities at the time Rick was writing the series, so to make his son feel better, Rick decided to make Percy Jackson have some of these limitations. This encouraged those with learning disabilities to feel better about themselves, and to be less embarrassed about their