A really great juvenile series

I just discovered a really great fantasy series for kids. The series is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians and it is written by Rick Riordan. I heard Mr. Riordan speak at a library conference I attended recently. He's really funny and made his books sound extremely interesting (great sales job, Mr. Riordan). So, when I returned from the conference I checked them out. There are currently three installments and the fourth is due this summer. The Lightening Thief, The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse tell the story of Percy Jackson, whose mother is a mortal and father is Posiedon, the god of the sea. The books are wonderful modernizations of greek myths. I really enjoyed them. I'd say they are intended for older elementary school/younger middle schoolers. My niece (a first grader) started the first book but it was a bit too scary for her.