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How to Train Your Dragon: The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Bk. 1 (by Cressida Cowell)

common sense media says

Decent story, potty humor, reluctant reader bait.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is little to be concerned with here -- a bit of mild violence, not described -- but plenty of potty humor, the kind that eight-year-old boys find just about irresistible.

Positive messages: Not applicable.
Violence: A deer is torn to pieces, a dragon attacks a boy, a boy is swallowed by a dragon but survives, an army legion is eaten by a dragon, a dragon blows up.
Sex: A picture of a bare-bottomed Viking with a mermaid tattooed on his backside.
Language: None, but plenty of potty humor of the fart/belch/snot variety.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on How to Train Your Dragon: The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Bk. 1

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about initiation rites. Do you think it's a good idea for societies to have tests that children must pass before they are considered adults? What kinds of tests are best? Do we have any initiation rites in our own culture? If so, what are they? Is it good to have them?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the son of Stoick the Vast, chief of the old Viking Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans. Hiccup, though reasonably stoic, is not very vast. Nevertheless he, like the other boys his age, must pass the tribal initiation test -- capture and train a dragon for use in hunting. The dragon that Hiccup manages to snag, though, is tiny and not very trainable, even though Hiccup has the unusual skill of talking Dragonese. But when the tribe is beset by a mountain-sized sea dragon, Hiccup's brains and his dragon's orneriness may be more useful than brawn.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Author Cressida Cowell has taken a character from one of her picture books, Hiccup, the Viking Who Was Seasick, and wrapped a novel around him -- and middle-grade boys, especially reluctant readers, are going to love it. It's filled with humor both broad (characters have names such as Gobber the Belch and Snotface Snotlout) and snarky, with crude but amusing illustrations by the author to match.

Of course, humor of this sort is shooting fish in a barrel: all it really takes to get 8-year-old boys snorting milk out their noses is to say "poop" or "underpants" in their presence. Fortunately, Cowell also offers an appealing protagonist and a story that, while predictable, is entertaining and often exciting, in a format that is clever, yet easy to read.

From the Book:
"PAY ATTENTION!" screamed Gobber the Belch, the soldier in charge of teaching Initiation. "This will be your first military operation, and Hiccup will be commanding the team."

"Oh, not Hic-cup," groaned Dogsbreath the Duhbrain and most of the other boys. "You can't put Hiccup in charge, sir, he's USELESS."

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, wiped his nose miserably on his sleeve. He sank a little deeper into the snow.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Cressida Cowell
Illustrator: Cressida Cowell
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: May 1, 2004
Number of pages: 214
Hardcover price: $10.99
Read Aloud: 8
Read Alone: 9
This review was written by Matt Berman
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

awsomegamer
kid, 11 years old
8
 
A Great Fantasy Read
the good stuff: Hiccup is a great role model while Toothless doesn't listen and is always complaining. Fishlegs is a good role model too and helps Hiccup out in a tough situation. On the downside, Snotlout and Dughsbrain are always bullying Hiccup and Fishlegs. the bad news:you see a bare-bottom Viking in a cartoonish picture, and there's plenty of potty humor. dragons fight each other and Hiccup and the Green Death have a discussion about cannabolisim. other than that, the violence is fairly mild.
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Cess711
kid, 11 years old
9
 
An extravagent book.
I loved this book, but i haven't seen the film yet. It has a little bit of violence and bullying, but nothing too bad. Hiccup is a good role model because he always tries his absolute best to succeed, and is always a hero. I hope you enjoy this book as well.
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Elfin
parent of and 5 , 7 , 8 year old
6
 
A good multi-day quick read for wall-climbers
I just finished reading this to my 8,6, and 4 year olds. The 4 year old didn't really understand most of it, but the 8 and 6 year olds liked it a lot (the 8 year old read ahead on his own). It's a good bedtime book because the chapters are short. There's a lot of opportunity for the reader to YELL, and there can be some scary parts, so it appeals to the more rambunctious kids. My kids caught on surprisingly well to the idea that there are many ways to "be a hero." I thought the book did well indicating that there were many ways to be not-so-heroic also. It wasn't a brains-against-jocks as much as I'd thought.
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Jojano
parent of 8 and 10 year old
8
 
Skip this book and go straight to the movie.
I tried reading this book out-loud to my kids (ages 9 & 7) since the movie was coming out, and I found that we never finished the book. My kids just weren't that into it and they love when I read to them. We went ahead and saw the movie even though we never finished the book, and I have to say that the movie is SO much better than this book. For me, that is usually not the case.
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maidment10
kid, 12 years old
7
 
Try this book out
I loved this book and it's a page turner. Once you start it you cannot stop. I have read all the books in the series except the last one. Here is the order: -how to train your dragon -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 Also there is a book that Crowell supposedly translated toothless's point of view and it's called How to train your Viking!
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Seran
kid, 9 years old
8
 
Lets just put it this way
i never read it but it looks ok too me
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helped me decide (7) | had useful details (4) | read my mind (3)
Eliasador
teen, 18 years old
8
 
Hilarious
This book is absolutely hilarious! I can read it over and over again and laugh out loud every time. It had a lighthearted, fun plot, and lots of humor added in. I like the hero because he is an ordinary boy, an unlikely hero, but he ends up saving his whole Viking tribe. The Viking setting adds positively to the experience!
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Sophia108
kid, 10 years old
8
 
LOVE IT .SO COOL
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speters97
teen, 14 years old
7
 
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bratser
kid, 10 years old
9
 
Way better than the dumb movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This book is pricelessly great. It has funny moments like when Gobber was thrown by the Seadragonise Maximunis. Suspense like when Hiccup thought Toothless was dead. Better then the movie and that's a promise.
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Uxie Trixie ...
kid, 12 years old
6
 
Great. Just great.
The "How To Train Your Dragon" series is great! Some of the plots in this series include: training a dragon (as said in the first book's title), saving The Hairy Hooligans, escaping Romans, and stealing a potato (it makes much more sense in context). Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Camicazi make a great team. I think it's better than the movie.
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