Is this a rule of thumb for MG mythology books?

Emissarius

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Has anyone noticed that most "modern-day-kid-exposed-to-mythology" books feature a protagonist who has somehow read about that mythology before getting exposed to it? I mean, is it really necessary? Or are most authors simply sticking to Rick Riordan's formula too closely?
If we look at the MC's in books like The Flame of Olympus, Loki's Wolves, The Serpent's Secret, Aru Shah and the End of Time, and The Storm Runner, they all know their mythology long before the gods/ monsters start popping up around them. I thought all of these books were executed reasonably well, though, except perhaps The Storm Runner, where the MC just happened to own a Maya mythology book without knowing why he had it. The book seemed to be there just to give the MC an excuse to shout "I read about this in my mythology book" every five seconds.
Do you suppose it's more challenging for the author to write an MC who's clueless about the creatures that attack him and doesn't tell us "I remember reading about that creature in my mythology book!" all the time?
 
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playground

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I always took it as the vehicle for how they want to show exposition. If the MC knows more about the mythology it is a lot easier to make comparisons/describe what they see and find out if the reader believes the MC has some background in the information.
 

Brightdreamer

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One of the potential problems with a completely clueless MC is that the author risks annoying the reader with repetition, where the character needs things explained to them all the time; this also necessitates other characters hang around to do the explaining, another bog-down in a category that tends to move a little quicker. (Also, IIRC, Percy Jackson knew the broad strokes of Greek mythology, but Riordan delved into some of the nooks and crannies as well, beyond his knowledge.)

Also, many mythologies are not unknown in popular culture and school curriculum by the middle-grade years; odds are the reader has at least heard of them by the time they pick up the book, even if they don't know the details or only know distorted popular impressions. So the author also risks talking down to an audience that hates being talked down to if they overexplain things and assume reader ignorance via an ignorant MC.

JMHO, though...
 

Bufty

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I don't find it strange for a kid MC to recall seeing something in his books.

Don't most kids have picture/story books on ancient history/mythology of some sort, be it Greek based, or on Dinosaurs, Incas, Mayas, Pharaohs, Picts etc..
 

Emissarius

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The thing is, books will vary in how convincing an MC will be in terms of his/her knowledge in the story's mythology. Aruh Shah and the End of Time cleverly has the MC reside in a museum for Indian art and culture. Percy Jackson was the best to pull it off imo, having the MC attend a school with Chiron teaching in disguise. But then you've got the Flame of Olympus and The Storm Runner who, for unconvincing reasons, simply have the MC own a mythology book and keep going "Oh, I remembered that creature from my mythology book!" It's here where that aspect becomes too much of a "template."
 

Samsonet

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I don't know how good it is as an exposition device, though I think the MC being a bookworm who's read a lot about their area of interest would help make them be relatable to readers.
 

frimble3

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How about a kid who has warped ideas about a common (Greek or Roman) mythology, because he's only read about it in fantasy roleplaying books?

I think an average kid knowing something about Greek, Roman, Norse, or Egyptian mythology wouldn't seem strange, (from books and movies and general culture) but once you're into Indian or Chinese stuff, you'd have to attribute anything over a very basic knowledge (he's got an elephant head, it must be Ganesh, etc.) to a special interest - family background, a constant reader, gaming, etc.
 

Vatnip

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A characters experience (or lack of) can be a brilliant device when used correctly. If you want to introduce a new world and keep the perspective of the reader in the equation, have the character be a "newbie". In other words, as if the reader has stepped into their shoes. You have to be careful about overdoing detail of course, especially in fantasy. In general I think this is a good viewpoint for younger readers, the less assumed, the better.
 

kwanzaabot

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We did Egyptian mythology in 4th grade here. I think I'd manage just fine if I was a kid who discovered Anubis was real.
Plus I read a lot of comic books growing up. DC loves their Greek mythology, and Marvel loves their Norse.

I don't think it's unreasonable that a kid would have a passing knowledge of (some) mythology.
 

TMCan

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One thing to remember with at least the examples used above, these are kids that know about the mythology of their own cultures. Yeah someone outside of the culture may not know it but why wouldn't kids known parts of their own culture?