How to Train Your Dragon Books in Order: How to read Cressida Cowell’s series?

Thanks to the popular media franchise from DreamWorks Animation consisting of three feature films, five short films, and three television series, chances are you know who are Hiccup and Toothless. But before becoming big stars on the big screen, the young Viking and his dragon were the protagonists of a series of fantasy children’s books written by British author Cressida Cowell.

The books are the memoirs of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the last of the great Viking heroes. But he wasn’t always that awesome sword-fighter and dragon-whisperer. In fact, in the beginning, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the most put-upon Viking you’d ever seen. Not loud enough to make himself heard at dinner with his father, Stoick the Vast; not hard enough to beat his chief rival, Snotlout, at Bashyball, the number one school sport, and CERTAINLY not stupid enough to go into a cave full of dragons to find a pet… The books will tell you how Hiccup became a hero.

How to read the How to Train Your Dragon Series in Order?

1. Hiccup: The Viking Who Was Seasick – Picture book introducing Hiccup. Unlike his dad, Stoick the Vast, Hiccup is tiny, thoughtful and polite and scared of almost everything – especially of going to sea for the very first time. But go he must…So who will save the day when everything goes disgustingly wrong aboard ship and all the big Vikings lose their cool?

2. How to Train Your Dragon – Hiccup must lead ten novices in their initiation into the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. They have to train their dragons or be BANISHED from the tribe FOR EVER! But what if Hiccup’s dragon resembles an ickle brown bunny with wings? And has NO TEETH? The Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus is stirring and wants to devour every Viking on the Isle of Berk . . .
   Can Hiccup save the tribe – and become a Hero?
3. How to Be a Pirate – When a huge, six-and-a-half-foot floating coffin with the words BEWARE! DO NOT OPEN THIS COFFIN arrives, can you guess what happens next? The Quest to discover the treasure of Hiccup’s ancestors begins and Hiccup needs to find it before Alvin the Treacherous gets his hands on it. But when a dragon called the Monstrous Strangulator is thrown into the mix, things are about to get seriously SCARY.
4. How to Speak Dragonese – When Hiccup’s dragon Toothless is captured by Romans, only Hiccup and his friend Fishlegs can rescue him. But things get WORSE, when the Romans steal Hiccup’s precious book HOW TO SPEAK DRAGONESE and Hiccup and Fishlegs are taken off to the Fortress of Sinister! Now they must save Toothless AND themselves – but how can they possibly escape?
5. How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse – Hiccup’s best friend Fishlegs thinks he has a nasty cold, but Old Wrinkly has diagnosed . . . VORPENTITIS, caused by the sting of a Venomous Vorpent, which is pretty much ALWAYS FATAL! The only antidote is the Vegetable-that-No-one-Dares-Name – the POTATO. But the only way for Hiccup to find the cure is to face Norbert the Nutjob and the terrifying Sea Dragon, the DOOMFANG. Can Hiccup survive the quest to save his best friend – and discover how to cheat a dragon’s curse?

6. How to Train Your Viking, by Toothless the Dragon – spinoff book of the How to Train Your Dragon book series. Toothless is the dragon of a truly extraordinary Viking Hero called Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Hiccup has written three books so far, and now Toothless has his say. Here are Toothless’s tips on how to train your Viking!
7. How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale – Over on Lava-Lout Island, the volcano is ready to blow. Now Hiccup faces a terrifying Quest to Stop the Volcano Exploding, alongside his best friend Fishlegs and Humungously Hotshot the ex-Hero. But not only is Lava-Lout Island full of EXTERMINATOR DRAGONS, Hiccup’s ARCH ENEMY is also lurking – and he’s seeking REVENGE!
8. The Day of the Dreader – spinoff book of the How to Train Your Dragon book series. A deadly sea dragon is attacking the Isle of Berk but the Hooligans are trapped! Apart from Toothless who discovered a stash of eggs, the tribe has no food! Now it’s up to Hiccup and his friends to save the Isle of Berk before the Vikings die out FOREVER!

9. A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons – Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the Third just wants a nice PEACEFUL birthday. But Hiccup’s dad wants to steal the prized How to Train Your Dragon book, and prove that his Hooligans are just as good as the Bog Burglars – except Hiccup’s dragon Toothless has EATEN it! So when Camicazi suggests stealing a copy from the grim Meathead Public Library, it seems like a good idea. BUT IT ISN’T! The library is guarded by the Horrible Hairy Scary the Librarian, four hundred Meathead Warrior Guards AND their Driller-Dragons . . . Will Hiccup survive – or is he DOOMED on his own birthday?
10. How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm – Trapped on The American Dream II with his friends Fishlegs and Camicazi, Hiccup must ESCAPE the barbarian Norbert the Nutjob, and somehow dodge the cruel Polar-serpents in the icy waters below.
    If ONLY Hiccup hadn’t promised to help the Wanderer slaves on board escape too! HOW will Hiccup save himself, his friends and a hundred and twenty-two Wanderers off a ship WITHOUT their terrifying captors noticing?
11. How to Break a Dragon’s Heart – Whilst searching for his lost friend Camicazi, Hiccup and the Hooligan Tribe have ended up on Uglithug Island. Now UG, the most brutal King in the World, sets Hiccup the Impossible Task. He must venture to the Isle of Berserk to pass his test or DIE trying. And all while being hunted down by an old enemy with a dark secret about the Lost Throne… Can Hiccup find Camicazi, and succeed in his task?

12. How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword – Bad times have come to the Archipelago. Ever since the woods of Berserk burned down, it is almost as if the world is cursed. Dragons are starting to revolt against their Masters. The waters have risen, flooding fields and washing whole villages away. But worse still, the wicked witch Excellinor has returned. Can Hiccup find the King’s Things and win the sword-fighting contest to stop Alvin the Treacherous from becoming King of the Wilderwest?
13. How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel – When we last left Hiccup things were getting very dark indeed. The Dragon Rebellion has begun. Snotlout is the new Chief of the Hooligan Tribe. Stoick has been banished and given the Slavemark. And Alvin the Treacherous has EIGHT of the King’s Lost Things, and has been proclaimed the new King of the Wilderwest … But what can Hiccup do, now all alone and in exile, hunted by both humans and dragons? Can he find the Dragon Jewel, mankind’s last and only hope and become the Hero once again?
14. How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero – High up in the treacherous mists of the Murderous Mountains, Hiccup and the Company of the Dragonmark are in hiding. The witch’s Spydragons are guarding the shores of Tomorrow – but Hiccup is determined to become King of the Wilderwest. Can Hiccup dodge the dragons and steal the King’s Things back from Alvin before the Doomsday of Yule? And is there a traitor in Hiccup’s camp who in the end will betray them all?
15. How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury – It is the Doomsday of Yule. At the end of this day, either the humans or the dragons will face extinction. Alvin the Treacherous is about to be crowned the King of the Wilderwest on the island of Tomorrow. His reign of terror will begin with the destruction of dragons everywhere. The fate of the dragon world lies in the hands of one young boy: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. If Hiccup can’t beat Alvin the Treacherous then the entire human AND dragon race will become extinct. The time has come to prove himself, once and for all. Will Hiccup – with the help of his friends Fishlegs, Camicazi and Toothless the dragon – finally be crowned KING? And will the dragons survive?
16. The Incomplete Book of Dragons – Companion book to the series — also known as The Complete Book of Dragons: A Guide to Dragon Species — featuring dragon profiles, dragon anatomy, dragon riding tips and lots more must know info e.g. how to spot the difference between an arsenic adderwing and a glow worm (you don’t want to mix those two up) and what to do when confronted with a Hellsteether. This is a must for all keen dragonwatchers out there…

If you like our How to Train Your Dragon reading order, you may also want to see our guide for the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, or our guide to Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series. And for more dragons, take a look at Dragon Masters, Tracey West’s series. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.