How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1

How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1

by Cressida Cowell (Author)

Synopsis

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was a truly extraordinary Viking Hero. Warrior chieftain, awesome sword-fighter and amateur naturalist, he was known throughout Vikingdom as 'the Dragon Whisperer', on account of his amazing power over these terrifying beasts.

But it wasn't always like that. In fact, in the beginning, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the most put upon Viking you'd ever seen. Not loud enough to make himself heard at dinner with his father, Stoick the Vast; not hard enough to beat his chief rival, Snotlout, at Bashyball, the number one school sport and CERTAINLY not stupid enough to go into a cave full of dragons to find a pet...

Printed on special stock with a beautifully designed jacket and added material including a new author's note. There is a special collectable feel to this book.

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Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Edition: Gift edition
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Published: 15 Oct 2009

ISBN 10: 0340997176
ISBN 13: 9780340997178
Children’s book age: 7-9 Years
Book Overview: The story of Hiccup Haddock Horrendous III's rise to fame, through his dragon-training exploits. Printed on special stock with a beautifully designed jacket and added material including a new author's note. There is a special collectable feel to this book. Read the book that inspired the hit DreamWorks film How to Train Your Dragon.

Media Reviews
The first in the successful series... perfect for tricky boy readers, as the action scenes are first-class. * The Sunday Telegraph *
Mentioned in the 100 Best Children's Books Ever (Novels) * The Daily Telegraph *
If you haven't discovered Hiccup yet, you're missing out on one of the greatest inventions of modern children's literature -- Julia Eccleshare, Guardian's children's books editor
Filled with thrilling adventure and action-packed heroes -- Charlotte Tarling, Year 6 * Country Child *
By turns hilarious and wise, it's never predictable, brilliantly illustrated and always delightful * The Times *
Proper modern classics * Sunday Express *
Hilarious * guardian.co.uk *
A laugh out loud romp of a Viking adventure * Observer *
The start of the most original series for kids in ages. Funny, clever and great for the whole family to share * Dundee Courier *
Her genuinely fierce, intelligent and scary dragons nearly steal the show, but Hiccup and his diminutive sidekick ultimately come out on top, both displaying a proper hero's mix of quick wit, courage and loyalty * Kirkus *
One of the most enjoyable and original children's stories I have heard in a long time * The Independent *
I can't praise this wonderful adventure too highly -- Amanda Craig * Independent on Sunday *
Bulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful * Independent on Sunday *
This light-hearted, well-illustrated mock saga would appeal to girls and boys. My Dad liked it too. More please. -- Geoffrey Truscott, aged 11 * The Glasgow Herald *
What we have here is Harry Potter meets Blackadder. The result is a story that anyone with a tolerance of snot and gore would find richly entertaining * The Glasgow Herald *
Cowell's wittily written books have become today's childhood must-read stories * Books Quarterly (Waterstones) *
This book will definitely make you laugh out loud * Torquay Herald Express *
Gripping adventure stories complete with quests and battles, a vivdly imagined alternative world * The Daily Telegraph *
Top stuff * The Daily Telegraph *
Cressida Cowell's series of the memoirs of Hiccup the Viking are funny, outrageous and will lure in the most reluctant reader * The Spectator *
Funny, thrilling and ideal for children needing to discover the hero inside themselves * The Times *
Wise, colourful and funny * Dorset Echo *
Cowell is a master of storytelling...On a profound level, this series celebrates divergence and being true to oneself, teaching children that they don't have to be carbon copies of their parents * Hay Festival of the Arts *
Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon books fill every spread with scales and fangs and typographical jeux d'esprit * The Independent *
Descriptive and flowing, Cowell's Dragon novels have become deserved hits at the cinema, too. * Time Out *
Has a good story to it -- Jamie, aged 9 * Daily Record *
Full of bright wit and brutal honesty, this is a brilliant book that launched a huge series ... This is a fantastic adventure that explores failure as well as success and weighs the cost of being different against the price of fitting in with sneaky maturity and shining humour * The List *
'... full of charm ... imaginative and bursting with inventive, off-the-wall humour, making them great stories to be read aloud.' * Waterstones Books Quarterly *
'... inspired series ... its enchantment lies primarily in the comical, affectionate and often irritable relationship between Hiccup (the only nerd in the violent Viking Hooligan tribe) and his runty little dragon Toothless.' * Amanda Craig, The Times *

PRAISE FOR HICCUP:
'Fiercely exciting and laugh-aloud funny, it is as full of joy for children of 7+ who have given up reading as for those who love it.'

* Amanda Craig, The Times *
Irresistably funny, exciting and endearing * Amanda Craig, The Times *
CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK: This book is great fun and has a Blackadderish sense of humour ... full of the sort of jokes that will make schoolboys snigger. * Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times *
How to Train Your Dragon is a delightful narrative caper... It offers a challenging read to 11-year-olds, and rewards reading aloud, especially for those who relish an element of theatre at story time. * Sunday Herald, Glasgow *
... raucous and slapstick ... liberally illustrated with [Cressida Cowell's] riotous drawings, notes and maps. * The Financial Times *
[Cressida Cowell] puts a contemporary spin on the old brains over brawn moral and brings the story to a climax with a thrilling dragon duel. Lots for lots of different readers to enjoy. * Books for Keeps *
'a hilarious and gripping adventure, beautifully paced and studded with great dramatic scenes.' * Amanda Craig, Times *
Bulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. * Independent on Sunday *
'Cowell writes laugh-out-loud books with plenty of boy appeal Cowells anarchic drawings suit the slapstick humour.' * The Herald *
Hilarious and charming. * Observer *
Author Bio
Cressida grew up in Chelsea. She studied English Literature at Keble College, Oxford University. She then worked at Macmillan in the Fiction department. She took a BA at St Martins in graphic design and then an MA in Narrative Illustration at Brighton. She is married with three children and lives in London.