What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Train Your Dragon #1-3
How to Train Your Dragon: The First Collection
Read the original bestselling series that inspired the hit movie sensation How to Train Your Dragon chronicles the adventures and misadventures of reluctant Viking hero Hiccup and his dragon, Toothless. Join Hiccup and Toothless on their first three adventures in How to Train Your Dragon: The First Collection. This paperback boxed set includes: How to Train Your Dragon; How to Be a Pirate; and How to Speak Dragonese.
736 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2010
46 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Cressida Cowell
209 books2,448 followersCressida 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)
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)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 10, 2025
Read to you by David Tenant (via Audible), these books are such a treat. They are absolutely nothing like the film but extremely enjoyable none the less! C.C does a wonderful job at making these enjoyable for all ages. They are engaging, interesting and memorable.
October 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
October 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Instagram | Twitter | Reader Fox Blog | Bloglovin’ | Facebook |
March 9, 2021
| Reader Fox Blog |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Reader Fox Links |
You know those rare moments in life when you loved the movie far more than you even liked the book? Well, that's How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. This doesn't happen very often for me, but ultimately I find some movies really take the source material and change it for the better. Often, unfortunately, that happens when the source material either isn't great, has problems, or just plain missed out on an opportunity for emotional attachment. In the case of Cowell's novel, it's not that her story is bad but rather that the film's story is better, infinitely so, especially when it comes to emotionality.
Let's get one thing straight here to start with.
Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon is nothing like its movie counterpart. If you suggested that the film is loosely based on this book, you'd be correct. Near everything is different. I could probably count the similarities on one hand. Barring Hiccup's personality (but only moderately), the names, the setting, and pieces of the ending...there's very little similar about them. Instead of a world of Vikings who are terrified of and fight dragons, we live literally in a world where they are raised to capture and train them. The entire central conflict of the film, that of Stoick wanting his son to kill dragons and Hiccup refusing, does not exist in the book.
Also, much to the annoyance of one of my students, there is no Astrid in the books.
As much as I hate to admit it, the changes made to the story really do affect the likability. I can guarantee you all that I would not have an emotional attachment to How to Train Your Dragon without the things that they changed in the process of adapting it. Most likely, if I'd even read the book, I would have thought it was decent for young readers--it is generally a pretty good book--but I never would have cared much more than that. As it stands, I really have no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the books in this series.
Let's talk about why.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: book Toothless is awful. He's whiny and annoying and in no way endearing. I don't care about him at all in the books whereas in the movie I fall in love with him. This was perhaps my biggest gripe about the differences between the books. I couldn't stand one of the most important characters. Also, Toothless talks which, while not inherently bad, it did make it harder to connect with the characters in general. Again, there's that emotionality aspect; Toothless was kind of a jerk, something you wouldn't have felt as much had he not been able to talk.
The stakes are higher in the film. First of all, you care more about the characters. You love Hiccup, you adore Toothless, and you're incredibly invested in their relationship and wellbeing. The books were more about a bullied kid of a leader who couldn't figure out how to train his bratty pet. The movie, however, had many deeper messages. Moments of tension like when Hiccup had to decide between being the fearsome dragon killer his father wants him to be and when he tried to convince his people that dragons weren't dangerous had you on the edge of your seat. You care about Stoick, but you hate him for what he does to Toothless.
The movie shows you that adults can be wrong sometimes and learn, too.
You don't really get that in the book.
Honestly, at times the victory at the end of the novel doesn't even feel earned. Things just happened to turn out. The lazy dragon who refused to anything just happened to get up and do something. If I recall correctly, he complained the entire time he was doing it. Everyone had dragons, so Toothless--baring his reluctant heroics--wasn't really special in any way other than that he allowed Hiccup to get bullied more.
And I'm not saying that the book was bad. The world-building is amazing, the characters are fun and relatable, and the story is pretty decent. But I never would have loved it on its own. And, yeah, when compared to the movie it doesn't even really stand a chance.
| Reader Fox Links |
January 30, 2015
I read this series with my 10 year old daughter. We both loved them! She was not yet keen to read on her own - completely capable but just not interested. We would each read a couple of pages and it would be our time together. The books have some similarity to the movies (names, vikings, etc.) but the story-line is actually different.
May 30, 2018
Very cute stories and well written. We enjoyed them greatly. However, please note that these were changed A LOT for the movies/show. If you're picking these up because you loved movie, be prepared for it be very different.
May 8, 2022
The world needs more male heroes like Hiccup, or Johnny Maxwell, or even Bastian Balthasar Buchs, bookish sorts who don't have "the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand", who are compassionate, who think a bit about things, who don't use equate violence with bravery.
This breed of male heroes are ever so rare and I'm happy whenever I come across one. Of the ones that do exist, Hiccup is undoubtedly my favourite.
This breed of male heroes are ever so rare and I'm happy whenever I come across one. Of the ones that do exist, Hiccup is undoubtedly my favourite.
October 17, 2025
A very amusing book to read on my commutes. David Tennant’s voice for Toothless was really funny and was met with a lot of “What on Earth are you listening to”…
Quite different to the films that I’m so accustomed to, which is quite refreshing - overall a fun read.
Quite different to the films that I’m so accustomed to, which is quite refreshing - overall a fun read.
March 14, 2022
3.5 stars
April 4, 2025
Excellent read for youngsters but also absolutely enjoyable for older folk. Dragons are always a win and heros come in all shapes and sizes.
November 6, 2025
one of the best children's series of our time
September 13, 2025
After I'd read all the Roald Dahl books, a friend mentioned listening to the How to train your dragon audio books red by David Tennant and how they were very fun, so I figured I'd give them a go seeing as I really liked the How to train your dragon film.
David Tennant is absolutely brilliant and makes the books fun to listen to, however, being a big fan of the film and not knowing the books at all, I could not get my head around how different Toothless is in the books.
I've enjoyed listening to the first three books (got it as a package deal of sorts), but throughout, I kept feeling like it was not what I expected so I will not be listening to the rest.
David Tennant is absolutely brilliant and makes the books fun to listen to, however, being a big fan of the film and not knowing the books at all, I could not get my head around how different Toothless is in the books.
I've enjoyed listening to the first three books (got it as a package deal of sorts), but throughout, I kept feeling like it was not what I expected so I will not be listening to the rest.
August 8, 2025
Great book
I enjoyed the story about our heroes and their dragons. I would recommend this book to almost everyone. Great story
I enjoyed the story about our heroes and their dragons. I would recommend this book to almost everyone. Great story
March 29, 2023
Utterly brilliant, outrageously fun. Hard to imagine a better audiobook performance in the genre than what David Tennant has pulled off here. I'm not even sure that the books are all that good in themselves (the 3rd especially), but this was a fantastic listen for me and my 11 year old.
August 3, 2011
It is super funny!!!:)
February 14, 2017
See my reviews for each individual book in the series for in-depth commentary about these stories.
February 21, 2022
Between 4.5- 5 stars. I didn't like the music between chapters, but the story is cute and David Tennant a fantastic narrator.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews