How to Steal a Dragon's Sword [Paperback]

Cressida Cowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2011

Brand new copy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1444900943
• ISBN-13: 978-1444900941
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,800 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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best yet, October 19, 2011

By 

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

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This review is from: How to Steal a Dragon's Sword (Paperback)

The "How to Train Your Dragon" books have been interesting to read. Oh, they're great books for kids and kids-at-heart and all that, but the series itself has been interesting. The first few odd books of the series are fairly stand-alone fun bits. But as the series progressed a bit of a overarching plot began to appear. I really can't recall when it became obvious for me, but it happened.

As it is, "How to Steal a Dragon's Sword" will not stand on its own very well at all. But if you have read the rest of the series, this is definitely one to be appreciated. Not only does it continue the aforementioned plot of the last few books, it manages to pull the entire series together in a brilliant move that leaves me aching for the next book, whenever that gets around to being written.

What begins as the annual New Year's Festival becomes much more chaotic when it is revealed that a new King must be chosen. Not only that, but a few rampant dragons are making things increasingly more difficult. The true King will be revealed by the presence of 10 specific items (many from earlier books) and our young heroes set out on a quest to make sure the new King is the right person.

This book may be the gem of the series. I don't know if it was the fact everything finally came together, or if Cressida Cowell has perfected her stride, or if this is just for whatever reason a darn good book. Everything enjoyable about the series is here: the madcap humor, the lovable and familiar characters, Cowell's nonchalant way of breaking the fourth wall, the riotous adventure, tender emotion, everything that probably has struck fans' fancies.

Yet there just seemed to be a little something extra: this book packs a punch that had me reading this in two sittings (the break not due to my own will, mind you. Information is revealed, the action is supercharged, one scene actually had me crying while another had me wanting to stab a few characters, and I think there was even a quiet attempt to link this series to possibly a subtle alternate universe of the loosely-based movie version of How to Train Your Dragon, which I found interesting but surprisingly fitting.

The tragedy and/or good news is that this is not the last book, but one that leaves us with one hell of a cliffie.

I highly recommend this. It's a near-perfect blend of humor, heart, terror, and adventure, and I think all fans heretofore will be beyond pleased.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing continuation of the Hiccup saga!, November 7, 2011

By 

Educ8r13 (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Steal a Dragon's Sword (Paperback)

My daughter and I read this book as soon as we got it. She got me started with the Hiccup books, and now we both love to read them. The story is well written and shows a natural progression - Hiccup is growing up and facing more adult choices concerning how he fits into the tribe and relates to his fellow Vikings. The story is darker than the previous ones, and has an ending guaranteed to make you wish book 10 was coming out sooner!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!!! But read the others first!, December 31, 2011

By 

katycoakley (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Steal a Dragon's Sword (Paperback)

My son and I have read all the books in the "Hiccup" series, and have been anxiously awaiting this latest installment. I gave it to him for Christmas, and we read it together ravenously. It features, of course, the same wonderfully wacky characters, quick wit and elements of slapstick. But from the start, this book is slightly different than the previous ones in the series. It's much more dramatic and in a couple of places absolutely gut-wrenching. Another reviewer mentioned that one scene brought tears - I bet I know exactly what that scene was, since I found myself reaching for the tissues as well!

This is verbatim from my eight-year-old son. 'It's a very, very good book, but it can be scary at times, and if you don't really handle it right, it might not come out the way you want. You might be surprised for what you get. It's very pressure taking.'

Overall, it's a fantastic book, and a really great addition to the series. It sets us up for the finale, which (I assume) will be coming out late next year. I have no idea how we will manage to wait that long! But I would strongly recommend reading the other books in the series before buying this one.