The Day of the Dreader

How to Train Your Dragon #7.5

by Cressida Cowell

A deadly sea-dragon is attacking the Isle of Berk but the Hooligans are trapped!Apart from Toothless who discovered a stash of eggs, the tribe has no food! Now it's up to Hiccup and his friends to save the Isle of Berk before the Vikings die out FOREVER!

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Dragons, Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Young Adult

119 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2012

About the author

Cressida Cowell grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. She was convinced that there were dragons living on this island, and has been fascinated by dragons ever since. 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 is now published in over 30 languages. A DreamWorks Animation feature film is out in March 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 and three children.

Her Books:
1. How to Train Your Dragon (2003)
2. How to Be a Pirate (2004)
3. How to Speak Dragonese (2005)
4. How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse (2006)
5. How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale (2007)
6. A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons (2008)
7. How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm (2008)
8. How to Break a Dragon’s Heart (2010)
9. How to Steal a Dragon's Sword (2011)
10. How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel (2012)

Reviews

[Aleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute.

[aioue]

not important at all but I HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF READING THIS ON WORLD BOOK DAY WHEN I WAS IN YEAR 7 OR MAYBE YEAR 8 AND I REMEMBER LOVING IT so thank you cressida cowell for birthing my preteen-obsession with dragons/ fantasy stories, it was my entire personality when I was 12 and it’s still my entire personality now <33

[Alexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't judge gang tryna reach my goal

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun little novella in this series and I was happy I was able to find a copy through the archives. I love the illustrations (something I've missed from listening to the audiobooks), although they do look a little bit like a kid (Hiccup) has drawn them. This story takes place in a day and it's about the time when the Dreaded Dreader came to Berk, preventing the Vikings from fishing and getting food for weeks. I love how the story takes place in two parts, the part with the naughty Toothless and the part with Hiccup and the village. The connection between the two stories is adorable and fun. Once again, it's all Toothless' fault, but once again, he blames Mean Master, lol! I loved the baby dragons and how they put Toothless through his paces. The book is 119 pages, so a little less than half the length of the regular stories, so it's a great way to entice reluctant readers into the series.

[Colleen Mckenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Day of the Dreader tells the story of Hiccup and Toothless and is from the How to Train Your Dragon series. The book was created especially for this year’s world book day. The book tells the story of the Dreader a sea dragon who is stalking the isle of Berk. The islanders known as ‘Hooligans’ are trapped without any food except for one dragon toothless who has mysteriously stumbled upon some dragon eggs. The islanders will need to defeat the Dreader in order to survive.
This book is a great introduction to the How to train your Dragon series. It has short and snappy chapters which make it extremely readable for younger children. This book is aimed at children 7+ and although it is only about 100 pages long Cowell includes a lot of detail. The structure of the book means the reader is alternating between two stories the first being the Hooligans versus the Dreader and the second toothless and the dragon eggs. This style of writing helps build suspense in the story. The use of the special dragon language dragonease will also appeal to children as will the cartoon style illustrations that appear throughout the story.

[PollyAnna Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super-awesome, as usual, for Cressida Cowell!!!! I love her books! And my son does, too! I think the best part is that we read and enjoy these together! Of course it's a bit predictable. Typically I don't like books that are so predictable, but with that being said, the predictability of THE DAY OF THE DREADER doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the read in the slightest! It's a typical Hiccup and Toothless adventure--fun and a joy to read!!!!

[Alice magical library · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Isle of Berk has been feared for many weeks by the dreaded Dreader, Stoick the Vast (Hiccup’s father) decides to do something about it. But when both Toothless and Hiccup are in trouble, will that ever save the day, or will they become dinner for the Dreader?
A lovely world book day story with adorable dragon illustrations by Cressida.

[Ada Nitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for the Cramathon. So much fun!

[Elmari Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and cute.

[Peter Hilliard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright then. I have a minute or two.
... but that would be it.
This book confused me a little. It was released in 2012 to mark World book day. This timeline puts it right in the meaty end of the main book series, where things are really building to a head of steam and the slippery tendrils of the overarching story are beginning to intertwine into a tangled and complicated bundle of intrigue. The level of writing has lifted and the characters are so thick and full of substance that you could carve them with a spoon.
So what should we expect of this book? The same? Maybe more? Maybe this is that long-lost missing peice of your life that will explain what the letters V. E. R. Mean on the tiny chest bequeathed to you by your grandmother that you can't figure out how to open?
Well... hold on there.
This book takes you back to a simpler time in oh so many ways.
The characters have been wrung out and ironed to a paper thin version of themselves and the story itself seems rather childish by comparison.
But oh wait... this IS a children's book intended for children.

Let me just change hats here...

This little book finds our old pals Hiccup and Toothless thrust into yet another tale of mortal peril as each has to navigate their own minefield of parental control in order to face the dragons that darken their doorsteps.
I dont want to give too much away, but Hiccup wrestles with his father to overcome the very large problems that a very large dragon has brought with it. Back on the Isle of Berk, Toothless battles with the very large problems that three very small dragons have trundled into his life with.

The story is shot, snappy and well paced for young readers and serves as an easy entry to the How To Train Your Dragon book series. In fact, the book is probably only about as long as this review.

Short chapters, engaging illustrations and an easy to follow story will hopefully lower the hurdle height for entry to reading to slightly raised tile edge that you keep accidentally stubbing your toe on.

However if you, like me, are going into this thinking this will add to the story that you have been thoroughly enjoying. I'd suggest that you lower that expectation significantly. In fact, probably put it out with your general waste on your next bin day.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and short Dragon story with all the usual staples of the series. Toothless is usual, troublesome self. Hiccup trying to do the right thing. Adventure. Charm. Humor. *SPOILER* I was a little surprised about the idea of another dragon wanting to eat baby dragons. *END SPOILER* I liked how it was part of World Book Day and makes me want to learn more about the event. I wish it was easier to get in the States. So, fun, very quick read the is interesting for the series but not needed to understand the main 12 books.

[Jihansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got my hands on Day of the Dreader after accepting that reading it someday was just a foolish hope. You know what? It was even better than 'How to be a Viking'! The story was altogether more interesting, and the scene where Toothless develops fatherly instincts after just a couple minutes around some baby dragons was hilarious. The baby dragons hatching due to fire also reminded me of 'Gift of the Night Fury' and a sketch + footnote from the (In)complete Book of Dragons, which I treasure. As always, I have no complaints about Cressida Cowell. She's got a special place in my heart.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a World Book Day bonus for the How to Train Your Dragon series and it’s a sweet little addition that I’m glad I spotted in a charity shop. It works as a standalone and you can easily get by without reading it at all, but it does have baby dragons in it and so there’s that.

All in all, it was pretty cute but I doubt I’ll ever re-read it. If you’re a fan of the series or just a completionist like me then you could do worse than picking it up – especially if you can get it cheap.

[John Naylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read any of this series before. Based on this I'm not sure I would fully enjoy it.

Putting myself into this world was easy enough. It is a world of dragons and Vikings. Based on this it is also a bland world with characters that don't jump off the page too.

World Book Day books are often added into a series and I accept that. This one is hopefully not indicative of the rest of the series .

[Harriet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been in the world’s biggest reading slump for longer than I can remember and this book has been the start of my return to readerdome. I’ve always loved How To Train Your Dragon, the movies in particular being my absolute favourite things, so I knew if anything were to save me, it would have to be Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toothless is naughty... that should do it right. Ok so this changes between Toothless and Hiccup as the Dreader comes in but only things known about the Dreader is from ballads which no-one can really trust.
A fun enjoyable short story brought out for world book day that will have you laughing at the ridiculous plans of Hiccups father and Hiccups comeuppance (lessons were learned... temporarily).

[Fi's Journey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun & funny read from the How to Train Your Dragon series.

This one is an extra story that got made for the 'World Books Day'.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good side story to the brilliant ‘how to train your dragon’ series.

[Killian · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were some really funny parts like when Toothless tried to eat some eggs and they turned out to be Dreader eggs.

[ITry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

Cute little story, wish i had read it in between and not after i finished the series
Its not her best writing but it was nice to go back to a problem free time early in hiccups adventures ^__^

[Caro Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny story

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book for 7-8 year olds . its about a daring warrior trying to prove he is worthy.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

read 34mins 21/9/22-21/9/22

[Reed Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

🐉 ♥️

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kinga Nyárádi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was predictable, but this is a very cute little story.
It gave me nostalgia :')

[Crystal Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy 5 stars. I continue to fall deeper in love with these books every time I read them. They are such a joy.

[mia ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely love the series and had no clue this existed! Very cute story though, loved the (momentary) character development from Toothless.

[literaryaura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hilarious short story in the HTTYD world. Same fun characters, same silly Toothless.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I found on the book shelf to read whilst working from home

Love the movies didn’t even know it was a (kids) book series