How To Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon: World Book Day 2006

Not so good as mentioned

I can't begin to be objective about Cressida Cowell and her enchanting How to Train Your Dragon series, so suffice to say that this was another slice of literary indulgence for my son and I.This is a 'by blow' to the main plot, and so doesn't advance the saga of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and his titanic struggle against his nemesis, Alvin the Treacherous. Instead it focuses on the relationship between Hiccup and naughty, greedy, selfish little Toothless, who's infinitely much more interesting than the good looking but silently two dimensional licorice dragon of the movies.One of the high points of this book are the 'How To Speak Dragonese' inserts. These are so hysterically funny that useful phrases such as, "Pishyu na flicka-flame bum support" (Please do not set fire to the chair) and, "Mi mamma no likeit yum-yum on di bum" (My mother does not appreciate being bitten on the bottom) instantly became classics in our house. In fact, they were such a great hit that the highlight of my son's 9th birthday party was a 'How To Speak Dragonese' masterclass, with him speaking Dragonese and me translating. If you are up for the challenge and would like a little help with the pronounciation, you can even follow this link to find online footage of Cressida herself speaking Dragonese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u96Kc_R8iKA

Written from Toothless the Dragon's perspective, this is another classic kid's tale by Cressida Cowell and makes a lovely addition to the series of the adventures of the Viking Hero, Hiccup Horrrendous Haddock III.Toothless the dragon has been Hiccup's best pal and personal dragon from the "early days" when they were both young and learning to become fierce and brave within the crazy world of Vikingdom. After one of the previous books in the series was titled "How to Train Your Dragon", this is a rather fitting addition to the story - and just as funny, silly and rude in a gentle way. My husband has read all of the books to our 7 yr old daughter and it is hard to tell who enjoyed them most as equally entertaining from an adult's perspective too. The book is peppered with hilarious drawings too, many of which have kept my pair giggling for ages.One tip though, although not essential by any means, if you have not read any of the Hiccup books, I recommend you start at the beginning and read them in order to catch all the jokes.

"How to Train Your Viking" is a quirky "sidebar" story by Toothless the Dragon as part of the "How To Train Your Dragon" book series, and is a bit difficult to find in the U.S., which necessitates shopping in Amazon U.K. In general, I have been very pleased with the quality of the books, the careful packing, and the prompt delivery arrangements from sellers on Amazon U.K. This order was no exception. I am thankful that I can obtain Cressida Cowell's wonderful children's adventures from U.K. merchants when none in the U.S. have them!

This book is very entertaining especially if you love dragons and vikings. It's written from the perspective of Toothless the dragon. It's funny and makes you giggle. Cressida Cowell has a gift for writing great stories like this. It's quite short so it can be read quite quickly and won't put off those starting to read independently. I have the paperback edition. All in all a great read!

This is the littlest of the "Hiccup" books. The first we read as a family was "How to train your dragon" and I've since read it to every class I've taught. Great characters, humour for all ages and every book in the series eagerly awaited. None disappoint, in fact the more you get to know the characters the better they get. Best read aloud, with all the silly voices and the children beside you to enjoy the illustrations. In fact it got my son drawing as well as reading!