The books I write for kids are fantasy, so it’s probably no surprise that we’re big fantasy readers around this house. My middle grader, Sparkle, has just discovered the Percy Jackson series and is tearing through them. (Can you call it “discovered” when her brother has been begging her for years and she only read it because her English teacher put The Lightning Thief on  a reading list?)

Some parents would be appalled that English teachers are encouraging kids to read something as commercial as The Lightning Thief. I think it’s great! To me, the main reason for assigning books is to turn kids into readers….

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