3.5/5
I am no longer a teen librarian. I am now a youth librarian. I still read a lot of YA lit but now I also read many books targeted toward younger children. How to Train Your Dragon is one of those (It's the first book I selected for a new 4-6 grade book club).
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a ten year old member of an ancient viking tribe. To become a warrior, he must train a dragon to do his bidding - no small feat when you are, as Hiccup points out, not a natural hero. Clearly aimed at boys but with just enough appeal to keep girls reading too, the book is filled with clever references, disgusting names, inappropriate bodily functions, gross foods, and poor hygiene. Luckily there is quite a bit of love, cleverness, adventure, loyalty and humor to balance everything out quite nicely.
Hiccup learns that it takes more than muscles to make a hero, yelling is not always the best way to solve a problem - even if you are a viking, and friendship goes a long way. Overall, this is an excellent read for 4th grade plus, especially for male reluctant readers. I should probably add that the Disney movie of the same name veers drastically from this plot but that shouldn't deter anyone from either the book or the film.
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