How To Train Your Dragon: 1: How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

How To Train Your Dragon is the bestselling fantasy novel by Cressida Crowell.

Summary of the Book

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is an ordinary Viking boy. Well, not too ordinary because other Vikings seem to think there’s something wrong with him. Even though he’s Chief Stoick the Vast’s only son, he’s scrawny and quite cautious. History remembers him as a mighty fighter, a dragon-whisperer and the greatest Viking hero of them all. If only it had started that way. It started with his initiation as a Viking. Like all Vikings, Hiccup needs to go into a cave and capture a mighty dragon. As Chief’s son he is expected to capture an awesome creature, one of fearsome countenance and terrifying stature. He needs to capture a Monstrous Nightmare. So when he comes back from the hunt led bytrusty old Gobber the Belch with a tiny green and red Common or Garden Dragon he calls Toothless, no one is impressed. He ignores the villagers and tries to train it himself. All he needs to do is follow the manual on training dragons. There’s only one problem. The manual has only one page. If Hiccup and his friends can’t train their dragons, they’ll be expelled from the village. Not many can survive being exiled, but that’s the least of their worries. When two Sea Dragons wash up on shore, one of the two is a serious threat to the village. If Hiccup and his friends can’t fight it off in time, they will not live to see another sunrise.

About Cressida Crowell

Cressida Crowell is a British writer, best known for her How to Train Your Dragon series of children’s fantasy books. She has also worked on the on-going series of Emily Brown stories with illustrator Neal Layton.

The series has been loosely adapted into two animated motion pictures by Dreamworks Studios. The first part won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

Series Reading Order

Hello young Viking! If you’re new to the How to Train Your Dragon Series you need to catch the next books in the series in the following order: How to Be A Pirate, How to Speak Dragonese, How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse, How to Twist a Dragon's Tale, A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons, How to Ride a Dragon's Storm, How to Break a Dragon's Heart, How to Steal a Dragon's Sword, How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel, and How to Betray a Dragon's Hero. Catch them while stocks last and continue your journey with Hiccup and Toothless!