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John Rocco

Author of Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

16+ Works 6,545 Members 262 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

John Rocco grew up Barrington, Rhode Island. He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and School of Visual Arts in New York City. John collaborated with actor/comedian Whoopi Goldberg on the picture book Alice. Shortly after the project was finished he moved to Los Angeles where show more he worked as a creative director. At Walt Disney Imagineering John designed many attractions at Disney's Epcot, including the Post-Shows for Spaceship Earth and Mission Space. He also served as the art director for DisneyQuest, an interactive theme park in Downtown Disney. At Dreamworks, John was the pre-production art director for animated film Shrek. In 2005 John shifted his focus to writing and illustrating children's books and created Wolf! Wolf! which netted him the Borders Original Voices Award for best picture book. His next book was Moonpowder (May 2008) followed by Fu Finds the Way (Oct 2009). John continues to collaborate with authors and has illustrated Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System (Sep 2008) for Kathleen V. Kudlinski and The Lightening Thief (Dec 2009) for Rick Riodan. He also illustrates all the covers for Rick Riordan's bestselling YA series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. In 2012, his title Blackout was a Caldecott Honor recipient and made the ALA Notable Children's Books list. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Rocco on a SCBWI panel, November 2011 By SCBWI-LA_2008.rhcrayon-0238.jpg: Rita Crayon Huangderivative work: Jonathas Davi (talk) - SCBWI-LA_2008.rhcrayon-0238.jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17422687

Works by John Rocco

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (2014) — Illustrator — 3,769 copies, 56 reviews
Blackout (2011) 1,557 copies, 119 reviews
Blizzard (2014) 391 copies, 39 reviews
Wolf! Wolf! (2007) 138 copies, 7 reviews
All the Books (2024) — Illustrator — 100 copies, 3 reviews
Swim That Rock (2014) 93 copies, 8 reviews
Moonpowder (2008) 88 copies, 5 reviews
Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom (2013) 83 copies, 7 reviews
Hurricane (2021) 70 copies, 1 review
Fu Finds The Way (2009) 55 copies, 4 reviews

Associated Works

The Last Olympian (2009) — Cover artist, some editions — 24,593 copies, 411 reviews
Howl's Moving Castle (1986) — Cover artist, some editions — 15,329 copies, 494 reviews
The Red Pyramid (2010) — Cover artist, some editions — 12,749 copies, 328 reviews
The Blood of Olympus (2014) — Cover artist, some editions — 9,648 copies, 127 reviews
The Sword of Summer (2015) — Cover artist, some editions — 7,901 copies, 160 reviews
The Hidden Oracle (2016) — Cover artist, some editions — 6,807 copies, 101 reviews
The Hammer of Thor (2016) — Cover artist, some editions — 5,319 copies, 60 reviews
Castle in the Air (1990) — Cover artist, some editions — 5,170 copies, 108 reviews
The Dark Prophecy (2017) — Cover artist, some editions — 4,765 copies, 49 reviews
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 3 The Ship of the Dead (2017) — Cover artist, some editions — 4,224 copies, 40 reviews
House of Many Ways (2008) — Cover artist, some editions — 3,935 copies, 99 reviews
The Flint Heart (1910) — Illustrator — 326 copies, 14 reviews
Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System! (2008) — Illustrator — 90 copies, 7 reviews
Alice (1992) — Illustrator — 86 copies, 1 review
Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough (2024) — Illustrator, some editions — 51 copies, 3 reviews
The Legend Thief (The Hunter Chronicles) (2012) — Illustrator, some editions — 33 copies
Noah Builds an Ark (2019) — Illustrator — 28 copies, 2 reviews

Tagged

adventure (37) blackout (41) Caldecott (39) Caldecott Honor (38) children (35) children's (40) city (40) city life (36) community (47) electricity (47) family (142) fantasy (107) fiction (124) Greek mythology (67) mythology (111) neighborhood (21) neighbors (29) night (41) non-fiction (25) Percy Jackson (48) picture book (271) power outage (23) realistic fiction (37) snow (43) summer (40) to-read (145) weather (31) winter (43) YA (38) young adult (44)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1967-07-09
Gender
male

Members

Reviews

273 reviews
A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week. So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He show more explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that." This novel-sized paperback, complete with an insert of full-color illustrations by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco, is portable and friendly, and the ideal way to introduce young readers to the classic stories. Praise for Percy Jackson's Greek Gods "Percy's gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space-as does Rocco's artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning. . .The inevitable go-to for Percy's legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories." -Kirkus Reviews"The age-old stories are endlessly strong, resonant, and surprising, while the telling here is fresh, irreverent, and amusing. Percy's voice. . . John Rocco illustrates the myths with drama, verve, and clarity. A must-have addition to the Percy Jackson canon." -Booklist Online"Combining the sarcasm and wit of Percy Jackson with the original Greek myths is a great way to hook tweens and teens on the stories without boring them. The beautiful illustrations by John Rocco enhance each story. . ." -VOYA show less
Blizzard is based on John Rocco's childhood experience during the now infamous Blizzard of 1978, which brought fifty-three inches of snow to his town in Rhode Island. Told with a brief text and dynamic illustrations, the book opens with a boy's excitement upon seeing the first snowflake fall outside his classroom window. It ends with the neighborhood's immense relief upon seeing the first snowplow break through on their street. In between the boy watches his familiar landscape transform into show more something alien, and readers watch him transform into a hero who puts the needs of others first. John uses an increasing amount of white space in his playful images, which include a gatefold spread of the boy's expedition to the store. This book about the wonder of a winter storm is as delicious as a mug of hot cocoa by the fire on a snowy day. show less
¡Este es el Riordan que mola!
BoO se me hizo eterno, y jolín, como le odie. Pero este es tan como los cinco primeros de Percy Jackson que divertido se queda corto.
Como algo negativo, diría que la longitud de algunos capítulos es demasiado extensa. Por ejemplo, Perséfone. Toda ella me sobraba y hubiera cogido historias de semidioses famosos. Y el epílogo... ¡solo una nota de despedida! ¡Eso no es un epílogo yo quería más aventuras!
Interesting book, teaching the lesson of sharing in order to explain how libraries work. The story is about a little girl who feels the need to carry all of her books with here wherever she goes, but after an accident, she meets someone who introduces her to the magical opportunity to 'own' books through the library.

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Statistics

Works
16
Also by
17
Members
6,545
Popularity
#3,750
Rating
4.2
Reviews
262
ISBNs
100
Languages
12
Favorited
1

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