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Other Worlds

Other Worlds

10 Amazing Fantasy Stories
Children's BooksFantasy
Pages
352
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

Also published as Guys Read: Other Worlds, this is the fourth volume in the Guys Read anthology series created and edited by children's author Jon Scieszka, with illustrations by Greg Ruth. Built around Scieszka's literacy mission to win over boys and so-called reluctant readers, each Guys Read volume gathers short, high-interest stories in a single genre; this installment takes on science fiction and fantasy, collecting roughly ten tales of robots, ghosts, stranded colonists, mythic quests, and stranger things still. The lineup brings together prominent authors of children's and young-adult fiction, including Tom Angleberger, Shannon Hale, Kenneth Oppel, Rebecca Stead, Eric S. Nylund, D.J. MacHale, Neal Shusterman, Shaun Tan, and a reprinted classic from Ray Bradbury. Rick Riordan appears here as a contributor, not the author or editor: his story, Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo, is a Percy Jackson tale in which Apollo asks Percy for a small favor that turns into a big problem when a runaway singing automaton, a celedon, must be tracked down. The volume's variety of voices and genres is the point, offering reluctant readers several short, punchy entry points rather than one long narrative. For fans coming specifically for Riordan, his story is a single, self-contained piece within a much larger multi-author collection.

Prose complexity
3/10

Vibe

AdventurousFunnyLightheartedCreepy
Multiple POVsQuestSurvivalComing of Age

Genres

Children's Books Fantasy Middle Grade Science Fiction Adventure Mythology Short Stories Young Adult

Authors

N
Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman (born November 12, 1962) is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for the Unwind Dystology and the Arc of the Scythe trilogy (Scythe, Thunderhead, The Toll). He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and later spent his final two years of high school in Mexico City. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for Challenger Deep and the 2024 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

R
Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is one of those rare individuals whose writing has changed the way people think. His more than five hundred published works -- short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, television scripts, and verse -- exemplify the American imagination at its most creative. Once read, his words are never forgotten. His best-known and most beloved books, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes, are masterworks that readers carry wi...

R
Rick Riordan

An American author born June 5, 1964, in San Antonio, Texas, Rick Riordan writes mythology-based fiction for young readers. Before his publishing career, he taught English and history at public and private middle schools in San Antonio and the San Francisco Bay Area for fifteen years. While teaching, he wrote the adult Tres Navarre mystery series, which won the top three national mystery awards: the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Shamus. Percy Jackson originated as a bedtime story Riordan invented...

S
Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan is an author and artist known for his visually rich and imaginative books, including The Arrival and The Lost Thing. His stories often explore themes of memory, migration, and the search for belonging, appealing to readers of all ages.

T
Tom Angleberger

American children's writer. Tom Angleberger is an American children's writer, best known for the Origami Yoda series. As of March 2013, more than 3.3 million copies of his books had been sold worldwide. Angleberger lives in Virginia with his wife, Cece Bell, who is also a children's author. Angleberger is also the author of children's books published under the name Sam Riddleburger.

Characters

Percy JacksonProtagonist

Narrator of Rick Riordan's contribution, Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo, sent by Apollo to retrieve a runaway celedon.

ApolloSupporting

Sends Percy on the quest in Riordan's story.

All characters in Other Worlds

Frequently asked questions

  • Did Rick Riordan write Other Worlds?

    No. Other Worlds is edited by Jon Scieszka; Rick Riordan is only one of many contributing authors in this Guys Read anthology.

  • Which story did Rick Riordan contribute?

    Riordan contributed Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo, a Percy Jackson story in which Apollo sends Percy to retrieve a runaway singing automaton.

  • Where does Other Worlds fall in the Guys Read series?

    It is the fourth volume in Jon Scieszka's Guys Read Library of Great Reading anthology series.

  • What kind of stories does the book collect?

    Its theme is science fiction and fantasy, gathering short tales of robots, ghosts, other worlds, and similar speculative adventures.

  • Which other authors contributed?

    Contributors include Ray Bradbury, Neal Shusterman, Rebecca Stead, Shaun Tan, Tom Angleberger, Shannon Hale, Kenneth Oppel, D.J. MacHale, and Eric S. Nylund.

  • Who is the intended audience?

    The Guys Read series targets middle-grade boys and reluctant readers, with this volume listed for roughly ages 8 to 12.