# The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

**Author:** Rick Riordan
**Lexile:** 740L
**Grade range:** Grades 4–7
**Age range:** 9–13
**First published:** 2005
**Page count:** 384
**Genre:** Middle Grade Fantasy
**ISBN-13:** `9780786838653`
**ISBN-10:** `0786838655`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-lightning-thief
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old with dyslexia and ADHD, learns he is the son of Poseidon and must recover Zeus's stolen lightning bolt. The novel anchors a series widely assigned in 5th-7th grade and frequently paired with Greek mythology units. Its accessibility for striving readers (Lexile 740L, fast pacing) is part of its curriculum staying power.

## Themes

- Greek mythology
- neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD)
- friendship
- found family
- quest narrative

## Content notes

- mild violence
- monster peril

Common Sense Media age recommendation: 9+

## Where this book is assigned

### Common Core State Standards (ELA)

- **recommended** · 5th grade — [source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 contemporary fantasy exemplar (Greek mythology pairing)](https://achievethecore.org/page/2699)
- **recommended** · 5th grade · Florida — [source: FL B.E.S.T. Standards grade 5 mythology unit pairing](https://www.fldoe.org/)
- **recommended** · 6th grade — [source: CCSS ELA grades 6-8 Greek mythology pairing](https://achievethecore.org/page/2699)
- **recommended** · 6th grade · New York — [source: NY Next Gen Standards grade 6 ancient-civilizations crosslink](https://www.nysed.gov/)

---

_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. For the full HTML view with reading-list cross-references, see https://readinglist.school/book/the-lightning-thief._