Percy Jackson and the Olympians Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Paperback – September 16, 2008

They were really good books and really had a lot of character in the stories so they are my favorite collection of books so far! :)

My wife and I have been struggling to find something for my son to read that he could actually get interested in...since blowing through his Magic Tree House series. He is almost eight and English is really not his mother language (just as he was getting started speaking, we moved to China for several years and has been playing catch-up since we moved back for him to start 1st grade.) He loves TV and movies and so we've made him a deal, if there is a book for the movie, if he reads the book first, we'll take him to see the movie. With the movie for the first book in this series just coming out, we figured this would be a great chance for us to try out this new deal we made with him. This has been the greatest thing we have done in the last year to help give him more confidence in reading and find a greater love for reading. He burned through the first book in 2 hours (yes, a bit too fast, but surprisingly he still got about 70% of it--his Mom is making him write a book report, so he had to re-read it so he can write a decent book report--then his mom will let him see the movie.) He's also already burned through the second book and is working on the third one now.Its funny that he complained about reading through other books, saying the names were hard to read or remember, but he's had no problem with this one. It shouldn't surprise me though, he's memorized almost every dinosaur name there is and recognizes each one, so if children REALLY want to, they can read anything they want--it comes down to an interest factor. I hope that these books have given him the passion to continue reading and open up a whole new world of books for him.Personally, I have read the first two books too so that I can talk about them with him and make sure he is really understanding them. In general, they are a pretty fast read, don't get dull very much. I have heard others say that the characters haven't been developed well, but honestly, for the age group these were written for, I think its perfect. Kids at this age can still have attention issues and I think this book does great at keeping the readers interested in reading on.As a parent, I highly recommend this book to any parent with children in the 8-12 age group that are looking for some good summer reading for their kids. We have the first three book, we'll be looking for the other two as well as other series by this author.

Over this summer my 9 year-old grandchild started reading the Percy Jackson collection. I was working with him on his reading and together, we truly enjoyed the adventures of Percy. I'm not sure what age level the books are rated for but he reads well for a 9 year-old. There were words in there that I had to explain their meaning but for the most part he completely understood the story line. There was enough adventure to keep him interested , , even for a 9 year-old. Highly recommend these books!

I like the book better than the movie. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was apart of the story.

I recently started reading the series along with my 10 year old son. Although the writing is targeted for a much younger crowd, I fondly them very well written. The storyline flows very easily. Very entertaining and as the books progress, the plot becomes even more inviting. I was only planning on reading books one through three but now I find myself needing to know what happens next. I recommend these books to any young reader or adult.

I picked this set up mainly because it was a great deal for the first three books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I figured it would be an economic way to check out a series that's gotten a lot of popularity.This set is, simply, an amazing buy, and can't be beat at $11. The books in the set are:-Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief-Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2: The Sea of Monsters-Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3: The Titan's CurseEach book in the series is a contained adventure, but also part of a larger plot line that continues through the five books. I've reviewed each book separately; the reviews can be found on my profile/website if you're curious.The basic idea is that Percy Jackson is a young demigod, half human and half Greek god. He is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea. He grows up over the course of the books, starting at age 12 and finishing at 16. Percy's life is full of adventures and dangers, as he often heads off on quests to save his friends or Camp Half-Blood, sanctuary of the demigods. In "The Lightning Thief," Percy and his friends must find Zeus's stolen lightning bolt. In "The Sea of Monsters," they hunt for the Golden Fleece. And in "The Titan's Curse," the young demigods search for a missing friend as well as the Greek god Artemis.Percy Jackson and the Olympians is an outstanding series, one that I will be rereading often. Riordan's writing is witty, humorous, educational, fun, etc.; these are great books for kids and parents to read together.5/5.