Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid will be released Tuesday, May 4th

We are huge fans of Rick Riordan. My kids, my students and I all ate up his Percy Jackson series. If you enjoy mystery, mythology and adventure, you'll love Riordan's books. Naturally, we're very excited that his newest book will be released tomorrow. Imagine the Egyptian gods waking up and wrecking havoc on our modern world.

The Red Pyramid
The Kane Chronicles #1
by Rick Riordan
NY: Disney Hyperion, 2010
NY: Brilliance Audio, 2010
narrated by Kevin R. Free, Katherine Kellgren
ages 9 - 12
available on Amazon and your local library

The Red Pyramid promises to be an exciting adventure, set in modern times but full of Egyptian gods and mythology. At the heart are two siblings, Carter and Sadie Kane, whose father is a famous Egyptologist. The first few chapters are available for preview, either to read on the Kane Chronicle's website, or to listen to on Amazon or Audible's websites. Here's the publisher's summary:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

The reviews are starting to come in. Booklist has given The Red Pyramid a starred review. Carolyn Phelan writes in the Booklist review, "The first-person narrative shifts between Carter and Sadie, giving the novel an intriguing dual perspective made more complex by their biracial heritage and the tension between the siblings, who barely know each other at the story’s beginning. The first volume in the Kane Chronicles, this fantasy adventure delivers what fans loved about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: young protagonists with previously unsuspected magical powers, a riveting story marked by headlong adventure, a complex background rooted in ancient mythology, and wry, witty twenty-first-century narration."

My guess is that second and third graders are going to love listening to The Red Pyramid, and fourth through sixth graders will love reading it. Riordan has a wonderful skill of drawing in readers with action, suspense and characters they care about. You'll thrill your child if this shows up on their bedside this week!

I have not yet read The Red Pyramid. My copy will come from Amazon and Audible.com. If you make a purchase using one of the Amazon links here, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.