Promotional Information

Read the books that inspired the hit DreamWorks film How to Train Your Dragon.

About the Author

Cressida Cowell is the author and the illustrator of the globally bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series. Her next series, The Wizards of Once, was an international bestseller. Cressida is also the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton. The Which Way series is her most recent and has already been translated into 15 languages.How to Train Your Dragon has sold over 8 million books worldwide in 42 languages. It is also an award-winning DreamWorks film series, and a TV series shown on Netflix and CBBC. The Wizards of Once has been translated into 38 languages and also signed by DreamWorks.Cressida was the Waterstones Children's Laureate (2019-2022). She is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency and a founder patron of the Children's Media Foundation. She has won numerous prizes for her books, including the Gold Award in the Nestle Children's Book Prize, the Hay Festival Medal for Fiction, and Philosophy Now' magazine's 2015 Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity.She grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland and she now lives in Hammersmith with her husband, three children and a dog called Pigeon.

Reviews

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK: 'This book is great fun and has a Blackadderish sense of humour ... full of the sort of jokes that will make schoolboys snigger.' - Nicolette Jones, The Sunday TimesA wonderfully wittily written and illustrated story. - Waterstones Quarterly MagazineHow to Train Your Dragon is a delightful narrative caper... It offers a challenging read to 11-year-olds, and rewards reading aloud, especially for those who relish an element of theatre at story time. - Lindsey Fraser, Sunday Herald, Glasgow[Cressida Cowell] puts a contemporary spin on the old brains over brawn moral and brings the story to a climax with a thrilling dragon duel. Lots for lots of different readers to enjoy. - Books for Keeps... raucous and slapstick... liberally illustrated with [Cressida Cowell's] riotous drawings, notes and maps. - The Financial TimesBulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. - Independent on SundayAn excellent sequel to How to Train Your Dragon, this highly amusing adventure story with a dash of toilet humour is perfect reading for boys and girls alike aged 8-12. - Publishing NewsFull of madcap action, to-the-death battles and hysterical Viking tomfoolery

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK: 'This book is great fun and has a Blackadderish sense of humour ... full of the sort of jokes that will make schoolboys snigger.' - Nicolette Jones, The Sunday TimesA wonderfully wittily written and illustrated story. - Waterstones Quarterly MagazineHow to Train Your Dragon is a delightful narrative caper... It offers a challenging read to 11-year-olds, and rewards reading aloud, especially for those who relish an element of theatre at story time. - Lindsey Fraser, Sunday Herald, Glasgow[Cressida Cowell] puts a contemporary spin on the old brains over brawn moral and brings the story to a climax with a thrilling dragon duel. Lots for lots of different readers to enjoy. - Books for Keeps... raucous and slapstick... liberally illustrated with [Cressida Cowell's] riotous drawings, notes and maps. - The Financial TimesBulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. - Independent on SundayAn excellent sequel to How to Train Your Dragon, this highly amusing adventure story with a dash of toilet humour is perfect reading for boys and girls alike aged 8-12. - Publishing NewsFull of madcap action, to-the-death battles and hysterical Viking tomfoolery

Favorite characters and series continue this spring. Fans of Hiccup the Seasick Viking and his later adventures in How to Train Your Dragon (called a "riotous farce" by PW) will welcome How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell. This paper-over-board caper finds the Hairy Hooligan tribe in search of the long-lost treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly; crude b&w drawings double the pleasure. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.