How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale: The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III book 5
by Cressida Cowell
Published by Little Brown and Company - Hachette Book Group, USA
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Reviewed by Stephanie Boyd
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a young bumbling and reluctant hero. He seems to have quite a knack for stumbling across adventures in which he somehow manages to beat the bad guy. In this fifth adventure, Hiccup determines that thousands of highly deadly Exterminator dragons will be hatched if the volcano on a nearby island erupts. Hiccup, his friends, and his dragons must find away to stop the volcano from erupting, and do it fast. Can even Hiccup stop an erupting volcano or has he finally met his match?
Hiccups adventures are highly entertaining, especially for little boys who love adventure and fantasy. Each book stands alone as each contains a separate adventure. There are references to other adventures but you do not have to have read those books in order to follow the current tale. The book isn’t just for little boys but the language and names of the characters are particularly appealing to little boys who find any reference to body functions very humorous. For example, the boy’s pirate training instructor is named Gobber the Belch and some of Hiccup’s classmates are named Fishlegs, Snotface Snotlout, Tuffnut Junior, and Dogsbreath the Duhbrain.
The book is written as a kind of journal of Hiccup’s adventures and is heavily illustrated by the Viking child’s drawings. I enjoyed the book and this series has my ten-year-old son thinking maybe he could write a book like this (with his own adventures of course). I think this is an excellent series to give to a child who is not that interested in the idea of sitting down to read or write, for in it they may find the spark for their own imagination––and what could be better than that!
Armchair Interviews says: Wonderful adventures set off by great illustrations make for a fun book. Fine for Middle Reader or Young Adult ages.