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How To Steal a Dragon
Being BAD has never felt so GOOD! The second book in the villainously funny, highly illustrated young middle-grade series from author-illustrator Ryan Hammond. For fans of Amelia Fang, Dog Man and Grimwood.
‘A charmingly villainous adventure about friendship, school and unspeakable evil.’ Louie Stowell, author of Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good
It’s the start of the winter term and there’s a new teacher in town at Villains Academy – the notorious dragon-rider Felix Frostbite. Class Z are in awe of him and his lessons on venomous beasts and mythical creatures, but werewolf Bram is suspicious. Soon Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers uncover Felix Frostbite’s evil plan to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods and leave Villains Academy undefended. Have the gang learnt enough to outsmart their troublesome teacher, or will Felix Frostbite’s heist go down in villain history?
PRAISE FOR VILLAINS ACADEMY:
‘Frightfully fun – Villains Academy had me cackling from the very first page!’ Katie Tsang, co-author of the Dragon Realm series
‘I loved the spookily funny Villains Academy. It's a work of (evil) genius!’ Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar
‘Criminally fun!’ Danny Wallace, author of The Day the Screens Went Blank
‘Heart-warming and hilarious – Villains Academy is a spookalicious treat, set to terrify every other book on your shelf.’ Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and the Bethany
‘An absolute HOOT! Evil laughs aplenty!’ Sophy Henn, author and illustrator of the Pizazz series
‘A joyful hug of a book with genuine warmth and heart.’ Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear
‘A delightfully fun adventure with real heart and humour.’ Benjamin Dean, author of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow
‘Immersive, funny, and with a cast of scarily loveable characters, Villains Academy made me feel like I was IN the book!’ Mel Taylor-Bessent, author of The Christmas Carrolls
‘A fabulously funny adventure. I want to enrol in Villains Academy!’ Nick Sheridan, author of The Case of the Runaway Brain
‘Wickedly funny and full of quirky yet loveable characters.’ Iona Rangeley, author of Einstein the Penguin
‘This is a brilliant, bonkers work packed with top-notch illustration.’ Jack Noel, author and illustrator of the Comic Classics series
‘Full of wonderful characters, Villains Academy is such a FUN read!’ Rikin Parekh, illustrator of The Worst Class in the World series
‘A charmingly villainous adventure about friendship, school and unspeakable evil.’ Louie Stowell, author of Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good
It’s the start of the winter term and there’s a new teacher in town at Villains Academy – the notorious dragon-rider Felix Frostbite. Class Z are in awe of him and his lessons on venomous beasts and mythical creatures, but werewolf Bram is suspicious. Soon Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers uncover Felix Frostbite’s evil plan to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods and leave Villains Academy undefended. Have the gang learnt enough to outsmart their troublesome teacher, or will Felix Frostbite’s heist go down in villain history?
PRAISE FOR VILLAINS ACADEMY:
‘Frightfully fun – Villains Academy had me cackling from the very first page!’ Katie Tsang, co-author of the Dragon Realm series
‘I loved the spookily funny Villains Academy. It's a work of (evil) genius!’ Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar
‘Criminally fun!’ Danny Wallace, author of The Day the Screens Went Blank
‘Heart-warming and hilarious – Villains Academy is a spookalicious treat, set to terrify every other book on your shelf.’ Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and the Bethany
‘An absolute HOOT! Evil laughs aplenty!’ Sophy Henn, author and illustrator of the Pizazz series
‘A joyful hug of a book with genuine warmth and heart.’ Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear
‘A delightfully fun adventure with real heart and humour.’ Benjamin Dean, author of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow
‘Immersive, funny, and with a cast of scarily loveable characters, Villains Academy made me feel like I was IN the book!’ Mel Taylor-Bessent, author of The Christmas Carrolls
‘A fabulously funny adventure. I want to enrol in Villains Academy!’ Nick Sheridan, author of The Case of the Runaway Brain
‘Wickedly funny and full of quirky yet loveable characters.’ Iona Rangeley, author of Einstein the Penguin
‘This is a brilliant, bonkers work packed with top-notch illustration.’ Jack Noel, author and illustrator of the Comic Classics series
‘Full of wonderful characters, Villains Academy is such a FUN read!’ Rikin Parekh, illustrator of The Worst Class in the World series
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2023
7 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2024
These are such fun! Friends, dragons, mischievous teachers, exams and end of year parties! This has it all! I love the illustrations and the story from Ryan Hammond - I just smiled all the way through this! It’s gotta be great being in a place where being bad is good!
October 31, 2025
In this book, many different types of events happened. Which made this book really fun to read. Felix Frostbite, Bryan, Sheila, Bram, Skele-tony Le Bone And Mona were the main charaters of this book. The book started off in their classroom in Villains Academy. Sheila and Skele-tony Le Bone were arguing about the history of dragons. They arguing whether dragons had a bum or not. The class had gotten a unique name a few months earlier, and were named "The Cereal Killers". During the Mystery maze event, they came face to face with a big dragon. After winning the Mystery Maze and getting the villains of the week title, Sheila started saying that the giant dragon they came across had a big Bazooma. What the class called the biggest bum which is their from tutor, Master Mardybum had entered the classroom with a mysterious man drifting behind him, Master Mardybum introduced him as Felic Frostbite. Later in the book, they had to fight Felix Frostbite to save dragons from getting captured and controlled by him because those dragons belonged to Villains acadamy.
I would recommend this book to 9-10 year olds because the style of the book was for younger kids but it had really good grammer. Overall my opinion is that this book was fun to read and would be perfect for someone who likes to read about dragons.
I would recommend this book to 9-10 year olds because the style of the book was for younger kids but it had really good grammer. Overall my opinion is that this book was fun to read and would be perfect for someone who likes to read about dragons.
January 28, 2024
A brilliant children's book showing how team work can over come anything. I loved the dragons and the villainous behaviour as did my daughter. She also loved meeting the author at school.
May 1, 2024
In dieser Geschichte über Zusammenhalt, Freundschaft, Vertrauen und den Mut, über seinen Schatten zu springen, begleiten wir den Werwolf Bram und seine Freunde dabei, wie sie versuchten herauszufinden, was ihr neuer Lehrer, der Drachenreiter Felix Frostbeule wirklich plant.
Ich habe Bram und seine Freunde wirklich gerne auf ihrem Abenteuer begleitet, bei dem ihnen einige Hürden begegnen, die nicht so leicht zu meistern sind. Dadurch ist die ganze Zeit für Spannung gesorgt und ich war gespannt, ob und wenn wie die Rosinenschrecken es schafften, die wahren Pläne von Felix Frostbeule aufzudecken und schließlich zu vereiteln.
Bram ist ein toller Kerl mit einem großen Herzen, das es ihm nicht immer leicht macht, der Schurke zu sein, der von ihm erwartet wird. Ich fand es schön, wie er versucht, sich in seine Freunde, aber vor allem in Mona hineinzuversetzen, ihr Handeln zu verstehen und ihr letztendlich zu helfen.
Neben Bram gibt es viele andere liebevoll gezeichnete Figuren, die ihre individuellen Charaktereigenschaften haben, die nur sie auszeichnen. So sind mir auch Brams Freunde inzwischen alle richtig ans Herz gewachsen und man merkt, finde ich, wie sehr sie alle im Laufe der Handlung als Gruppe zusammenwachsen, was mir sehr gut gefallen hat.
Satzlänge und Wortschatz sind denen der jungen Leserinnen und Leser angepasst, ebenso wie die Beschreibungen der Figuren und Schauplätze. Zudem werden die Beschreibungen des Autors durch viele mit Liebe zum Detail gestaltete Illustrationen unterstrichen, sodass sich jede Leserin und jeder Leser die Figuren, Schauplätze und einzelnen Szenen vorstellen kann.
Fazit:
Eine wunderschöne Geschichte über Freundschaft, Zusammenhalt, Vertrauen und den Mut, über seinen Schatten zu springen. Ich habe den Werwolf Bram und seine Freunde gerne auf ihrem Abenteuer begleitet, bei dem ihnen einige Hürden begegnen, die nicht so leicht zu meistern sind. Dadurch war für Spannung gesorgt und ich war gespannt, ob die Freunde die finsteren Pläne von Felix Frostbeule aufdecken und vereiteln können.
Ich habe Bram und seine Freunde wirklich gerne auf ihrem Abenteuer begleitet, bei dem ihnen einige Hürden begegnen, die nicht so leicht zu meistern sind. Dadurch ist die ganze Zeit für Spannung gesorgt und ich war gespannt, ob und wenn wie die Rosinenschrecken es schafften, die wahren Pläne von Felix Frostbeule aufzudecken und schließlich zu vereiteln.
Bram ist ein toller Kerl mit einem großen Herzen, das es ihm nicht immer leicht macht, der Schurke zu sein, der von ihm erwartet wird. Ich fand es schön, wie er versucht, sich in seine Freunde, aber vor allem in Mona hineinzuversetzen, ihr Handeln zu verstehen und ihr letztendlich zu helfen.
Neben Bram gibt es viele andere liebevoll gezeichnete Figuren, die ihre individuellen Charaktereigenschaften haben, die nur sie auszeichnen. So sind mir auch Brams Freunde inzwischen alle richtig ans Herz gewachsen und man merkt, finde ich, wie sehr sie alle im Laufe der Handlung als Gruppe zusammenwachsen, was mir sehr gut gefallen hat.
Satzlänge und Wortschatz sind denen der jungen Leserinnen und Leser angepasst, ebenso wie die Beschreibungen der Figuren und Schauplätze. Zudem werden die Beschreibungen des Autors durch viele mit Liebe zum Detail gestaltete Illustrationen unterstrichen, sodass sich jede Leserin und jeder Leser die Figuren, Schauplätze und einzelnen Szenen vorstellen kann.
Fazit:
Eine wunderschöne Geschichte über Freundschaft, Zusammenhalt, Vertrauen und den Mut, über seinen Schatten zu springen. Ich habe den Werwolf Bram und seine Freunde gerne auf ihrem Abenteuer begleitet, bei dem ihnen einige Hürden begegnen, die nicht so leicht zu meistern sind. Dadurch war für Spannung gesorgt und ich war gespannt, ob die Freunde die finsteren Pläne von Felix Frostbeule aufdecken und vereiteln können.
January 28, 2024
Do you enjoy being a little bit wicked every now and then? It can be fun, so long as it is innocent villainy. If you can’t be a villain yourself, what would you think about reading about not just one or two but a whole academy of them? Ryan Hamond would like to invite you to enjoy some time at the Villains Academy, and if you are new here then it might be best to catch up, to do your homework and read Villains Academy. You’ll know it instantly from its blue cover and host of villainous looking characters. Once you are all caught up you can join in with the Winter term in Villains Academy: How to Steal A Dragon which once again Ryan Hammond has not only written but marvellously illustrated too. Be prepared to discover that being bad has never felt this good, or funny and remember where there is magic, where there are dragons, there are villains…
Winter term has come around with a new teacher for the pupils at Villains Academy. Felix Frostbite is well known as a dragon rider, or should I say he is notorious – that may give you a better idea of his character! He is at the Academy and teaching Class Z all about venomous beasts and mythical creatures, his speciality won’t surprise you. It’s dragons. The class is in awe. Well, most of them are. Werewolf Bram is suspicious of the new teacher in town and along with his friends the Cereal Killers he is about to uncover the evil plan Felix Frostbite is hatching. He wants to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods which would leave the Academy undefended. But he is the expert, the teacher, even if he is a super-villain hiding in plain sight. Can the gang use all their learning to outwit this troublesome teacher before he can go down in history for his heist? Prepare yourself for plenty of badness, humour, and lessons you will absolutely love.
Winter term has come around with a new teacher for the pupils at Villains Academy. Felix Frostbite is well known as a dragon rider, or should I say he is notorious – that may give you a better idea of his character! He is at the Academy and teaching Class Z all about venomous beasts and mythical creatures, his speciality won’t surprise you. It’s dragons. The class is in awe. Well, most of them are. Werewolf Bram is suspicious of the new teacher in town and along with his friends the Cereal Killers he is about to uncover the evil plan Felix Frostbite is hatching. He wants to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods which would leave the Academy undefended. But he is the expert, the teacher, even if he is a super-villain hiding in plain sight. Can the gang use all their learning to outwit this troublesome teacher before he can go down in history for his heist? Prepare yourself for plenty of badness, humour, and lessons you will absolutely love.
October 4, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another incredibly funny, mischievous and wonderfully illustrated story from Ryan Hammond. The Villains-In-Training are back at it again with more troublemaking and this time there are baby dragons involved. Of course the illustrations are amazing and they totally drag you into the story; I’m a sucker for dragons and the way they’re illustrated is just perfect!
I love the way that important messages are slotted into a fun and engaging story to add a deeper meaning without being too loud about it. The friendships in this story are some of my favourites. And the jokes, references and just pure craziness of the story and characters really did have me laughing out loud!
I’m loving this series and will definitely be continuing. I cannot wait to recommend this to everyone! If you know a young reader who loves funny stories with found family, crazy characters and lots of great pictures then this is the perfect read for them (but also I’m 23 and I loved it!)
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Another incredibly funny, mischievous and wonderfully illustrated story from Ryan Hammond. The Villains-In-Training are back at it again with more troublemaking and this time there are baby dragons involved. Of course the illustrations are amazing and they totally drag you into the story; I’m a sucker for dragons and the way they’re illustrated is just perfect!
I love the way that important messages are slotted into a fun and engaging story to add a deeper meaning without being too loud about it. The friendships in this story are some of my favourites. And the jokes, references and just pure craziness of the story and characters really did have me laughing out loud!
I’m loving this series and will definitely be continuing. I cannot wait to recommend this to everyone! If you know a young reader who loves funny stories with found family, crazy characters and lots of great pictures then this is the perfect read for them (but also I’m 23 and I loved it!)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews