# How to Train Your Dragon (novel series)
*How to Train Your Dragon* is a series of twelve children's fantasy novels by the British author and illustrator [Cressida Cowell](https://www.edgepedia.org/cressida-cowell), set in a fictional Viking world and following Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the unpromising heir to a Viking chiefdom, as he learns to train dragons and grows into a hero[1](https://www.orderofbooks.com/characters/how-to-train-your-dragon/) • [2](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-series). The books are published by Hodder Children's Books in Britain and Little, Brown and Company in the United States[3](https://howtotrainyourdragon.fandom.com/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_%28series%29), and they inspired [DreamWorks Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/dreamworks-animation)'s film trilogy and television series[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Cressida Cowell, British author and illustrator; Waterstones Children's Laureate 2019–2022[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/) |
| Main series | 12 books, from *How to Train Your Dragon* (2003) to *How to Fight a Dragon's Fury* (2015)[6](https://dmbio.com/blog/what-is-the-correct-reading-order-for-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-books) |
| Publishers | Hodder Children's Books (UK); Little, Brown and Company (US)[3](https://howtotrainyourdragon.fandom.com/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_%28series%29) |
| Protagonist | Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, heir of the Viking chiefdom, a boy with one very big problem: "a hero he is not"[7](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books/how-to-train-your-dragon-series/) |
| Sales | Over 8 million books worldwide in 42 languages[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/) |
| Adaptations | DreamWorks animated film trilogy, the TV series *Riders of Berk*, and audiobooks read by David Tennant[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/) • [5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/) |
| Related works | *The Complete Book of Dragons* (2014), *A Journal for Heroes* (2015), the picture book *How to Be a Viking*, and the spin-off series *How to Train Your Dragon School*[8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/) • [9](https://bookroo.com/books/series/how-to-train-your-dragon) |
## Publication history
The first book, *How to Train Your Dragon*, appeared in 2003[6](https://dmbio.com/blog/what-is-the-correct-reading-order-for-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-books); the American publisher Hachette Book Group lists its US editions as beginning in 2004, followed by one or two new books most years[8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/). The twelve main novels ran in publication order as follows[8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/):
1. *How to Train Your Dragon*
2. *How to Be a Pirate*
3. *How to Speak Dragonese*
4. *How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse*
5. *How to Twist a Dragon's Tale*
6. *A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons*
7. *How to Ride a Dragon's Storm*
8. *How to Break a Dragon's Heart*
9. *How to Steal a Dragon's Sword*
10. *How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel*
11. *How to Betray a Dragon's Hero*
12. *How to Fight a Dragon's Fury*
Hachette's list dates book 6 as 2009 and the twelfth book as 2015, with books 10 and 11 both appearing in 2013[8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/). Reading guides advise following publication order, because each book builds on the last and the back half is one continuous war story[6](https://dmbio.com/blog/what-is-the-correct-reading-order-for-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-books).
## Story and format
**A memoir frame.** The books are presented as the memoirs of Hiccup, who as an old man looks back on how the greatest Viking hero who ever lived began as the most put-upon boy in his tribe, the son of chief Stoick the Vast[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/). In the opening volume, Hiccup must lead ten novices in their initiation into the Hairy Hooligan tribe by catching and training a dragon, on pain of banishment[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/). Instead of a fierce beast he captures a small, toothless dragon he names Toothless, and the series turns on the friendship between the two[7](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books/how-to-train-your-dragon-series/). A monstrous Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus then threatens to devour every Viking on the Isle of Berk, and Hiccup must save the tribe to become a hero[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/).
**Format.** Each spread pairs the text with Cowell's own energetic drawings, notes and maps; reviewers describe the illustrations as "riotous" and the humor as slapstick, with short chapters that keep even reluctant readers turning pages[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/) • [7](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books/how-to-train-your-dragon-series/). Book 6, *A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons*, is partly a Hiccup adventure and partly an in-world reference book, including dragon species classifications and maps[6](https://dmbio.com/blog/what-is-the-correct-reading-order-for-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-books). The same guide format became a standalone volume, *The Incomplete Book of Dragons* in Britain or *The Complete Book of Dragons* in the United States (2014), presented as a guide written by Hiccup himself[10](https://www.booksonboard.com/book-series-in-order/how-to-train-your-dragon/).
**Development across the series.** The early books are comic adventures; later entries such as *A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons*, *How to Steal a Dragon's Sword*, and *How to Fight a Dragon's Fury* follow Hiccup as he slowly works out what kind of leader he wants to become and how much that will cost him[11](https://mostrecommendedbooks.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order). *How to Fight a Dragon's Fury*, the final book, gives an epic conclusion in which the fate of the Viking world hangs in the balance[2](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-series). Reviewers note that the series weighs the cost of being different against the price of fitting in, and that it celebrates divergence and being true to oneself[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/).
## Companion works and spin-offs
Around the twelve main novels sit shorter pieces and companion volumes: the picture book *Hiccup: The Viking who was Seasick* (1999), the novella *How to Train Your Viking, by Toothless the Dragon* (2006), *The Complete Book of Dragons* (2014), *A Journal for Heroes* (2015), and the picture book *How to Be a Viking*[12](https://www.goodreads.com/series/160115-how-to-train-your-dragon) • [8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/). [Barnes & Noble](https://www.edgepedia.org/barnes-and-noble) counts the guidebooks and the picture book for smaller children among Cowell's additional titles for the world[2](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-series). A separate spin-off series, *How to Train Your Dragon School*, follows Hiccup's earlier lessons at the Isle of Berk's training school[9](https://bookroo.com/books/series/how-to-train-your-dragon).
## Books versus films
The DreamWorks films share with the books little beyond the core concept of a Viking boy training a dragon; the differences in plot, character, tone and theme are large enough that the two often read as separate stories[13](https://darkskiesfilm.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-book-vs-movie/). Cowell's novels emphasize humor, individuality and the power of communication within an established Viking culture, while the films tell a more dramatic story about empathy, conflict and cultural transformation[14](https://blog.agradeahead.com/post/a-grade-ahead-reviews-the-book-versus-the-movie-how-to-train-your-dragon/). The audiobooks that carry the books' voice, read with "gigantic gusto" by the former [Doctor Who](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-who) star [David Tennant](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-tennant), have been widely praised in their own right[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/).
## Adaptations and reach
The franchise that grew from the novels includes 12 books, a film trilogy, four short films, a television series, a graphic novel, and a stage play or musical[15](https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/uploads/store/mediaupload/9117/file/How%20to%20Train%20Your%20Dragon%20book%20and%20film%20learning%20activities%202024.pdf). The TV series *Riders of Berk* has been seen on CBeebies and [Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network)[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/). A live-action film was released in 2025[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/).
The series has sold over 8 million copies worldwide in 42 languages[5](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/). Reviewers praised the first book as "a hilarious and gripping adventure" ([The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times)) and described the result as "Harry Potter meets Blackadder" (The Glasgow Herald)[4](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/). Hachette classifies the books as juvenile fiction for grades 3 to 7, and educators use the first book as a read-aloud that sets the rules of the fictional world before students read later volumes independently[7](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books/how-to-train-your-dragon-series/) • [16](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/HBGSites_LB-School-Library_Education-Guides_How-to-Train-Your-Dragon.pdf).
## References
1. [Order of How To Train Your Dragon Books, OrderOfBooks.com](https://www.orderofbooks.com/characters/how-to-train-your-dragon/)
2. [How to Train Your Dragon Book Series, Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-series)
3. [How to Train Your Dragon (series), How to Train Your Dragon Wiki (Fandom)](https://howtotrainyourdragon.fandom.com/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_%28series%29)
4. [How to Train Your Dragon, Cressida Cowell (Hachette UK)](https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/titles/cressida-cowell/how-to-train-your-dragon/9781840329698/)
5. [How to Train Your Dragon, Hachette Schools](https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/)
6. [What Is the Correct Reading Order for the How to Train Your Dragon Books?, dmbio](https://dmbio.com/blog/what-is-the-correct-reading-order-for-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-books)
7. [How to Train Your Dragon Series, Hachette Book Group](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books/how-to-train-your-dragon-series/)
8. [How To Train Your Dragon Series in Order, Hachette Book Group](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order/)
9. [How to Train Your Dragon Books in Order (1–12), Bookroo](https://bookroo.com/books/series/how-to-train-your-dragon)
10. [How To Train Your Dragon Books in Order, Books on Board](https://www.booksonboard.com/book-series-in-order/how-to-train-your-dragon/)
11. [All 14 How to Train Your Dragon Books in Order, Most Recommended Books](https://mostrecommendedbooks.com/series/how-to-train-your-dragon-books-in-order)
12. [How to Train Your Dragon Series, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/series/160115-how-to-train-your-dragon)
13. [How to Train Your Dragon: Book vs. Movie, Dark Skies](https://darkskiesfilm.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-book-vs-movie/)
14. [A Grade Ahead Reviews the Book Versus the Movie: How to Train Your Dragon](https://blog.agradeahead.com/post/a-grade-ahead-reviews-the-book-versus-the-movie-how-to-train-your-dragon/)
15. [How to Train Your Dragon book and film learning activities, Scottish Book Trust](https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/uploads/store/mediaupload/9117/file/How%20to%20Train%20Your%20Dragon%20book%20and%20film%20learning%20activities%202024.pdf)
16. [How to Train Your Dragon educator's guide, Hachette Book Group](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/HBGSites_LB-School-Library_Education-Guides_How-to-Train-Your-Dragon.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Prose fiction › Novel series and sagas › Children's and young-adult novel series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license