A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons (Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup the Viking) [Hardcover]

Cressida Cowell (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up

It's Hiccup's birthday, but that's not going to keep him from getting into trouble. To save his dragon, Toothless, from being banished, Hiccup must sneak into the Meathead Public Library and steal the Viking's most sacred book. But the Vikings see books as a dangerous influence, and keep them locked up and under heavy guard. To save his friend, Hiccup must brave the Hairy Scary Librarian and his dreadful army of Meathead Warriors and face off against the formidable Driller-Dragons. Will he make it out and live to see his next birthday?

Editorial Reviews

Review

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 Bulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. -- Independent on Sunday --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Cressida Cowell is the good-friend and confidante of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Viking warrior and hero of The Heroic Misadventures. When she is not visiting with Hiccup to document his latest memoir, she lives in the UK. She is also the author of The Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? and numerous other picture books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031611779X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316117791
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cressida Cowell grew up mostly in Central London. She has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin's and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton. Cressida loves illustrating her own work, but also loves writing books for other people to illustrate as the end result can be so unexpected and inspiring. Cressida has written and illustrated eight books in the popular Hiccup series. The unique blend of child centred humour and sublime prose made Hiccup an instant hit. How to Train Your Dragon has reached over 100,000 sales and is now published in over 30 languages. A Dreamworks feature film is due to be released in 2010. Also the author of picture books, Cressida has won the Nestle Children's Book Prize 2006 and has been shortlisted for many others. Cressida lives in Hammersmith with her husband, three children and two cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 9-year-old LOVES it!, March 2, 2008

By 

M. Sarrao (New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) (Bk. 6) (Hardcover)

I ordered this book for my son. He has read all the books in this series (this is #5 or #6) and I can't express in words how much he LOVES the whole series. He is a reluctant reader, but zips through these books in less than a week! This book is a bit longer than the preious books, so it took him a bit longer to read. I asked him if this title was better or worse than the other books. He said it was just as good as all the previous books. I love the series because it is about a little viking boy, Hiccup, who doesn't fit into the viking mold. He is the son of the tribe's chief, and thus the heir, but instead of being big, strong, and mean, he is small, smart, skinny, and a "book-worm." He is also a bit of a dragon-whisperer. He uses his brains and ingenuity to solve problems and outwit enemies. We know that he grows up to be a great leader of his tribe, because these books are written as translations of his memoirs that recently washed up on the beach! If your child loves fantasy, then I recommend these books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Train Your Dragon Book 6, September 24, 2010

By 

Liam - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Train Your Dragon Book 6: A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons (How to Train Your Dragon (Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III)) (Paperback)

I'm a 3rd grade boy and I LOVE the How to Train Your Dragon books! These series of books are the best series ever!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dang funny., August 30, 2010

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Train Your Dragon Book 6: A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons (How to Train Your Dragon (Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III)) (Paperback)

Anyone who has any level of passion for books will appreciate the effort gone through in this particular story... for books. It's a sweet and heartfelt concept, this love of books, that drives this story and its humor as the children desperately risk their lives for a book. All book worms can support that.

Though maybe risking crazy and deadly driller dragons and crazy librarians may be a little too frightening for some, but it does make a heck of a good read as our awkward heroes race against the clock to steal an admittedly useless book.

And boy, does Cressida Cowell keep the adventure going! Her creative, madcap Viking world provides all the dangers and hilarious quirks for this mission, from invisible stealth dragons to swordfighting handbooks.

The writing is sharp, clear, and appealing, as his the humor. This is a great book for kids, especially boys who best appreciate crazy humor and a little bit of violence (nothing to put off mothers, mind you.)