Proceed with Caution: How To Train Your Dragon Series Review and Why We DNF
Updated: Aug 29
How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Quick Summary
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Humor
Recommended Age: Upper Middle Grade/YA with Parental Approval
Possibly Concerning Content* (details below)
🤬 Language: Name calling and potty humor.
🛡️ Violence: Varies by book. See P.C.C.
❤️ Romance: None
‼️Heads-up: While we loved Books 1, 4 and 5, we advise strong caution with all others books. We DNF Books 3 and 8 and did not read Books 9 - 12.
Jump to:
Who is This For?
The Vibe: Middle grade, viking fantasy with talking dragons, witty humor, action and adventure. Dark themes in later books.
The Good: Books 1,2, 4 and 5
My family and I love the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy of movies from Dreamworks. We've watched all the Cartoon Network spin-off series (Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and Race to the Edge), played most of the video games (RIP School of Dragons) and are determined to make it to Universal's Epic Universe someday. We are fans.
It was only natural for us to eventually want to read the source material to dive in further. Surprisingly, the books are a lot different than their on-screen counterparts, and not always in a good way. Check out our YouTube video for details and for book recommendations that are more inline with the film versions.
📍Important Note: We listened in audiobook format so we cannot speak for any images that may be inappropriate in the physical copy of the books. The audiobooks were narrated by David Tennant, who did a fantastic job. There was music and sounds effects but neither were overwhelming. We recommend grabbing one of the 'Book of Dragons' the original or the new Live Action version so you can see the dragons from the books.
Book 1, How to Train Your Dragon, was really good, a lighthearted story about Hiccup the Viking getting his dragon Toothless, who is a small garden dragon who has an adorable stutter and a stubborn personality. Only Hiccup can speak Dragonese (the dragons call it Mud Tongue). Together with his friend Fishlegs, Hiccup and Toothless must face an enormous dragon threatening to consume all the Viking tribes.
In book 2, How to Be a Pirate as part of Viking Training, Hiccup and Fishlegs have to learn how to wage war on land and sea. When they discover a floating coffin with a riddle to a hidden treasure inside, Hiccup, Toothless and Fishlegs head out to the forbidden island of the Skulleons where they'll face pirates and dragons to find the treasure. We liked this one, but not as much as the first one.
SEE BELOW for Book 3.
Book 4, How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse, is our FAVORITE of the entire series! Fishlegs is bitten by a dragon and contracts Vorpentitis, a deadly disease with a ticking clock until death. There's only one cure: a mystical vegetable called a Potato. Thankfully, there might be one in a nearby Viking village. With the help of Toothless and Kamakazi, Hiccup will face Sharkworms, Doomfangs, and crazy vikings to save his friend. This felt like a Christmas tale and was such a fun listen/read. The action and adventure is gripping, the humor is funny and the twist is shocking!
In book 5, How to Twist a Dragon's Tale, Hiccup must find the Fire-Stone and take it back to the Volcano Island before it erupts hatching thousands of Exterminator dragons and wiping out the Tribes. We recommend this one as well, besides the regular warnings (see Heads-up in the P.C.C. below). It's a good action/adventure mixed with the humor the series is known for.
The Concerning: Books 3 and 6 - 12
In the third book, How to Speak Dragonese, Hiccup and friends face Romans (lead by Alvin the treacherous) who are determined to steal (and eat) every dragon on the Isle of Berk. We were uncomfortable with the baby dragons being eaten alive so we did not finish this book.
Right around book 6, we began to sense a new theme within the How To Train Your Dragon book series. Things were getting less playful and humorous and becoming heavier and a tad darker.
In Book 6, Hiccup must sneak into a Viking library to steal their most sacred book in order to save Toothless from being banished. But the library is protected by dragons and the Hairy Scary Librarian. We did not like this one mainly for the slavery and lying without repercussions.
In Book 7, How to Ride a Dragon's Storm, it's the Inter-Tribal Swimming Race is here. But while the tribes race to win, Hiccup ends up on a slave-ship bound for America. Can he free the slaves and return to Berk in time to finish the race? We were leery of this from the first chapter (see Heads-up) and though we finished the audiobook we did not like the darker turn the series seems to be taking.
For Book 8, How to Break a Dragon's Heart, within the prologue, there was already mention of a father killing his son and the bloody wars that followed. In the first chapter, there was a ghost that haunts the ocean searching for her lost child who will steal the heart of anyone she meets and take it below. Then, the Berserker tribe is apparently sacrificing people to a creature they call 'the beast.' At this point, we turned off the audiobook and decided we were finished reading the series.
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Possibly Concerning Content*
Click on dropdown arrows for details.
🤬 Language: Name calling and potty humor.
Possible Spoilers
All Books: There is bullying and name calling.
Book 4: A Viking is named ‘Big Boobied Bertha’ and an ad asks, “will those boobies continue to go undefeated?”
Book 5: Big Boobied Bertha and her vikings sing a song about, "strong are the breasts that crush without fear." A woman is described as having 'thunder thighs."
Book 6: ‘Big Boobied Bertha’s lady parts are described again, "her tremendous breasts heaved in surprise," and "even those boobies knew when they were beaten and they drooped in a distressed way."
Book 7: “Big Boobied Bertha’s boobies are flapping so joyfully that they looked as if they would carry her off into the sky like a couple of hot air balloons.” “Bertha’s boobies drooped.”
🛡️ Violence: Varies by book. See P.C.C.
Possible Spoilers
All Books: Violence. Injuries described. Death of dragons. Character deaths.
Book 1: A dragon blows up and guts are described.
Book 3: Dragons (including babies) are eaten alive by Romans.
Book 5: Dragons are eaten. A lot of reindeer are killed.
Book 7: The deck is described as being bloody red. Slaves threaten to eat the vikings livers. A dragon is 'picked clean' where it's body rests at the bottom of the sea. Slaves force a permanent 'slave mark' on Hiccup by using a sharp implement dipped in blue ink and digging it into the skin above his ear. He is forever tattooed and must hide it for the rest of his life or the other vikings will immediately take him into slavery due to the mark.
❤️ Romance: Minor mentions of couples but no physical interactions.
Possible Spoilers
Book 5: There is a romance in the past between two characters but no physical intimacy is described.
‼️Heads-up: While we loved Books 1, 4 and 5, we advise strong caution with all others books. We DNF Books 3 and 8 and did not read Books 9 - 12. Soothsaying. Slavery. Cannibalism. Casting Curses. Worship Norse gods.
Possible Spoilers
All Books: Hiccup's grandfather is a Soothsayer who practices fortune-telling. The Vikings worship Norse gods.
Book 2: The inside of a dragon's stomach is described in detail. The tribe of Outcasts threatens to sell the main characters into slavery. It is mentioned that the Outcasts were canibalistic in the past.
Book 3: A dragon believes he is a 'living god' and can be summoned by saying his name.
Book 6: There are mentions of a tribe possibly sacrificing people to a dragon. It's mentioned that this is most likely a rumor. A man is sent to the slave islands to be a slave for a crime he did not commit. We are told not to feel bad because he is not a nice person. There is a lot of lying in this book that is never reprimanded.
Book 7: There are slaves who 'put a curse' upon the ship. This is described in two different chapters that the slaves are ‘laying a curse on the ship, a curse on the voyage, a curse on every single Viking man, woman and child who was keeping them there" and that it makes Hiccup's hair stand on end. The slaves make Hiccup swear on his slave mark that he will help them.
📍*Possibly Concerning Content Disclaimer: I try my best to include all relevant content notes, or possibly concerning content, but I may not catch everything and/or you may feel things are concerning that I do not. Please research individually if you’re sensitive to specific topics/subjects! 📍
FAQs:
Q: Are the How To Train Your Dragon Books like the movies?
A: In our opinion, no. While the characters have the same names, and it takes place in Berk where dragons are tamed, that is where the similarities end. Check out YouTube for some comparison videos.
Q: Are the How To Train Your Dragon Books safe for my family to read?
A: Every family is different. Please read our Possibly Concerning Content for each book and reach out to others who may have finished the series who can give you more details.
Q: Is there heavy content in the How To Train Your Dragon Books?
A: While there is no language, or intimate romantic scenes, there is some heavier content including occult themes, violence, slavery, sacrifices, etc. They are very Viking. See our Possibly Concerning Content for each book for more details.
Pass it Forward
If you do continue to read the series, please leave reviews wherever you can that mention any possibly concerning content. Every family is different, but the more information we have the better we can decide what is best for our families.
Hopefully, we have given you enough information to decide if this series is right for your reader. That's why I created this blog, after all.
Until next time, stay Shelf-Aware
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