Rick Riordan Presents
Rick Riordan Presents is a book imprint of Disney-Hyperion. Like Rick Riordan’s own books, the titles published by this imprint are fantasy adventures featuring mythology and folklore, aimed at readers age eight or nine and up (they have also started to bring out Young Adult titles). Fans of Riordan’s books had been asking him when he would write a series based in another culture. Instead, he chose to support authors drawing on their own cultural backgrounds.
Readers who enjoy these books can also check out our recommendations for books like Percy Jackson.
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is the first book in a trilogy that starts in contemporary Alabama. It is rooted in African-American folklore and history and infused with West African mythology. There are also important messages about coping with grief and the power of storytelling.
Aru Shah and the End of Time is the first in the Pandava series, which follows Arundhati Shah, an Indian American girl from Atlanta, who happens to be the reincarnation of Arjuna. She must unite the avatars of the five Pandavas (demigod warrior princes) of the Mahābhārata and prevent a demon from ending time.
Thousand Worlds are science fiction novels infused with Korean mythology. In Dragon Pearl, Min, who comes from a family of fox spirits, sets out to solve the mystery of her brother’s disappearance and ends up in a space adventure.
Sal & Gabi Break the Universe is a Cuban-influenced novel of science fiction and magic which won the 2020 Pura Belpré Award.
The Storm Runner series is about 13 year old Zane, who lives in New Mexico next to a dormant volcano. What should he make of the prophecy that he will release the Mayan god of death and destruction from the volcano and that he must be the Storm Runner, when even walking is a challenge and he walks with a cane?
Race to the Sun is an adventure featuring some of the original American gods and the legend of the Hero Twins. Dine (Navajo) girl Nizhoni needs to survive trials, get to the House of the Sun and battle to rescue her father from shape-shifting monsters.
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears is a fantasy adventure based on the Mexican legend of the weeping La Llorona — a vengeful ghost who wanders the riverbanks. The protagonist is 12 year old Paola, a scientifically minded girl from Arizona who is embarrassed by her mother’s superstitions. But when her friend Emma goes missing, Paola has to enter a world of nightmares to retrieve her.
City of the Plague God is the first book about The Adventures of Sik Aziz. Sikander Aziz is a Muslim boy from New York City who teams up with Gilgamesh and other epic heroes and deities to defeat Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of war and plague, before Manhattan is wiped out.
In The Last Fallen Star, the first of the Gifted Clans series, 12 year old Riley Oh is a Korean American girl from a witch family, who lacks the healing powers of her other family members. When her sister is banished to the spirit realm, Riley must embark on a perilous journey to find the last fallen star in order to discover her own powers and save her sister.
In Pahua and the Soul Stealer, Pahua is an 11 year old Hmong girl who worries about making friends in her adopted hometown in Wisconsin. She has a secret: she can see spirits all around her. A series of events forces her to learn to be a true shaman warrior, braving a world of dragons, demons, gods and ghosts to save her brother.
In Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting, 12 year old Serwa has grown up learning to slay vampires and is looking forward to joining the Abomofuo, the ancient Ghanaian order of slayers. Instead she gets sent to Rocky Gorge Middle School to live as a normal child, where vampires aren’t the only monsters she has to contend with: there are also her fellow school children!
Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies, a story about Winston and his family and friends, is based on the ancient Chinese tale of the cowherd and the weaver girl. It is set in contemporary San Francisco and filled with Chinese folklore.
