BY ANNA GRIFFIN (aged nine)

 

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was an awesome swordfighter, a dragon whisperer and the greatest Viking hero that ever lived."

The Hairy Hooligan Tribe has a strict rule: Only the strong can belong. Gobber the Belch was in charge of initiation. The first test was the dragon initiation programme, much easier said than done.

First, during Winter when all of the dragons were hibernating, you sneak into the dragon nursery. Then you perform an act of burglary and steal a dragon. When choosing your dragon, it is important to remember that the dragon you pick will be the one that hunts fish and pulls deer down for you, so it’s important to get the right type, i.e one that suits you personality, is a good size, and one you know lots about already from reading ‘The Book of Dragons’.

After performing the hard bit, you have just four months to train your dragon and then at The Thor’s Day Thursday celebration you have to take part in a contest to decide who has the best trained dragon. See what I mean? It’s much easier said than done.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the main character of the book and was the rightful heir and hope for the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. His cousin, Snotlout, had always been jealous of his position and would do absolutely ANYTHING to get rid of Hiccup so he could be leader.

The Hairy Hooligans had a strict law: Only a chief or his son can own a monstrous nightmare dragon. Snotlout had disobeyed that completely by stealing a monstrous nightmare during the initiation test. Hiccup, as heir, was expected to get one, too, but having been scared of the larger dragons, he ended up grabbing a ‘Common or Garden’, the most common dragon type.

However, it wasn’t any old Common or Garden dragon - it was not only small but it had no teeth either - not even one growing out of its pink gums. Hiccup called him ‘Toothless’. Can Toothless win the contest and help Hiccup show his cousin who is boss?

I really enjoyed reading this book and have already started on the second in the series. My favourite part is when Hiccup is trying to house train Toothless and teach him to catch fish. If you’ve watched the film, you might be expecting this book to be the same, but it’s not. Most of the characters you see in the film don’t come from the books but don’t let that put you off – it is a really funny book that’s full of action.

 

This book was published by Hodder Children's Books and is available to buy for £6.99. It can also be borrowed from The Hive as well as other Worcestershire libraries. Click here to check availability and check it out.