How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell is book three of Hiccup’s story, a tender, very funny Viking adventure for 9 year olds in which Toothless is snatched by Roman dragon thieves.<\/p>\n
It starts with a Boarding-an-Enemy-Ship lesson in thick fog. Hiccup and Fishlegs are sailing The Hopeful Puffin, a boat they built themselves in Shipbuilding. It’s almost round, it leaks and it spins in circles in a strong wind.<\/p>\n
They’re supposed to raid a peaceful fishing boat. Instead they get lost, and Fishlegs scrambles aboard the wrong ship entirely. It’s full of Roman soldiers, three hundred and fifty of them, plus a giant cage of stolen dragons.<\/p>\n
Hiccup gets them out with a very clever trick involving an electric dragon and a plate of honey. But Toothless is caught in a net on the way, and the ship vanishes into the fog with him on board.<\/p>\n
Home isn’t much better. Stoick tells Hiccup a Chief feels no pain, refuses to send a rescue party and throws what’s left of Hiccup’s Dragonese notebook on the fire. (Hiccup pulls it out again, burning his fingers.)<\/p>\n
What makes this one special is Hiccup and Toothless together. They have a proper row in the boat and Toothless goes on strike at the top of the mast. Then the moment Hiccup yells for help, he flies straight in to save them. Who hasn’t fallen out with someone they love and then wished they hadn’t?<\/p>\n
It’s still very funny. Toothless refuses his oysters because they have black bits on them. Hiccup’s Pirate Training report gives him minus four for Advanced Rudery. And there are pages of made-up Dragonese phrases your reader will want to try out loud.<\/p>\n
It’s worth knowing the middle gets quite sad. Toothless ends up alone in a tiny cage in the dark, crying for help, and Hiccup can’t sleep for missing him. One of the Romans in charge also snacks on tiny live dragons stuck in honey. A child who adores Toothless might find that part hard going. It’s also exactly what will have them cheering Hiccup on.<\/p>\n
For a reader meeting Hiccup for the first time, How to Train Your Dragon is the place to begin.<\/p>\n
If they’re after more dragons in danger from people, try Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. A rat brings terrible news to a hidden valley where dragons live. Humans are coming, and they’re going to flood it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell is book three of Hiccup’s story, a tender, very funny Viking adventure for 9 year olds in which Toothless is snatched by Roman dragon thieves. It starts with a Boarding-an-Enemy-Ship lesson in thick fog. Hiccup and Fishlegs are sailing The Hopeful Puffin, a boat they built themselves in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14053,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":7285,"lr_next_read_anchor":"Dragon Rider","lr_seo_hook":"Toothless is caught by Romans, and Hiccup's dad won't help get him back.","lr_series_id":413,"lr_series_name":"How to Train Your Dragon","lr_series_position":3,"lr_series_label":""},"book_tag":[27],"age_group":[24],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[214],"class_list":["post-14054","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-fantasy-books","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-cressida-cowell"],"yoast_title":"How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Toothless is caught by Romans, and Hiccup's dad won't help get him back. For ages 9+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n