Percy Jackson has sparked an interest in mythology for kids all over the world. For those who may not know, Percy Jackson is the protagonist of Rick Riordan's wildly popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (and spin-off series), which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Percy Jackson is a demigod who learns the hard way that his father is Poseidon. Adventure stories are a great way for the young—and young at heart!—to learn more about mythology, but there's so much more to explore than Grecian lore. We've rounded up a list of 10 series and audiobooks like Percy Jackson—great adventure series that will get young listeners interested in mythology and folklore, and take them on a wild ride along the way.
If you like your adventure series served with a dose of chills and dipped in creepy Caribbean folklore, the Jumbies series should be your next listen. Corinne isn't afraid of anything, and she certainly doesn't believe in jumbies, the trickster creatures in the woods that parents make up to scare their kids into behaving. But after she stumbles upon something strange one night—a beautiful stranger seems to have bewitched her single dad—Corinne has to admit that maybe the jumbies are real. And unless she acts fast, they'll take over her family, and her entire island. This three-installment series is narrated by Hall of Fame narrator Robin Miles.
In this middle-grade adventure narrated by Amber Patrick, Robyn Loxley wakes up one night to find her parents gone and a new governor taking over her beloved home of Nott City. She's forced to flee into the night and live on the fringes of society, banding together with other misfits in order to survive. But Robyn decides to fight back by stealing from the rich to feed the poor. Although her bold deeds make her infamous, she is careful to never forget her true mission: to find and free her parents. Set in a dystopian world that’s not too scary for younger listeners, this is a very clever and action-packed retelling of Robin Hood, with a memorable and spunky female heroine.
In this fun series narrated by the author, Kiranmala is about to find out that the fantastical stories her parents have told her are actually true. Kiranmala is an ordinary kid living in Parsippany, New Jersey—at least, that's what she believes until she wakes on her 12th birthday to find her parents missing and a demon trying to kill her. When two princes ring her doorbell and sweep her off to another dimension, she begins to think that maybe she’s an Indian princess destined to fight demons after all. Soon, Kiranmala has more than enough to do, juggling fighting evil, dodging jealous deities, and rescuing her parents with saving the world.
The best-selling author of the Wings of Fire series, Tui T. Sutherland teams up with her sister, Kari S. Sutherland, to create an exciting trilogy about a menagerie of magical and mystical creatures. Situated in Xanadu, Wyoming, the Menagerie is a super-secret refuge for unicorns, dragons, phoenixes, and other fairy tale animals. Its safety depends on no one knowing these imaginary creatures exist, but that becomes rather hard when six griffin cubs escape. Logan and Zoe must track them down and rescue them before the Menagerie is exposed—or worse, shut down. But their search and rescue mission is soon complicated, and it's going to take a lot of quick thinking to get the job done. This is a great trilogy for younger listeners, and each audiobooks is its own mystery narrated by Em Eldridge.
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Artemis Fowl, the explosive first novel in Eoin Colfer’s best-selling Artemis Fowl series. Read by the actor Gerry O’Brien.
Twelve-year-old villain Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His bold and daring plan is to hold a leprechaun to ransom.
But he’s taking on more than he bargained for when he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit). For a start, leprechaun technology is more advanced than our own. Add to that the fact that Holly is a true heroine and that her senior officer Commander Root will stop at nothing to get her back and you’ve got the mother of all sieges brewing!
In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarök that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters - wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds - all bent on destroying the world. But the gods died a long time ago.
Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history - because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke. But knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things.
When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarök is coming and kids - led by Matt - must stand in for the gods in the final battle, Matt can hardly believe it. Matt's, Laurie's, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to stop the end of the world.
With so many wonderful worlds and various mythologies and folk tales to explore, which adventure audio series will be your next listen?
Tirzah Price is a writer and contributing editor at Book Riot.
