How to Steal a Dragon's Sword

This is the ninth instalment of the adventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and as with its predecessors, the humour never lets up. Sprawling pencil drawings further enliven a hilarious plot which also manages to be quite gripping at the same time. Hiccup is not an obvious hero yet his timid determination always to do the right things is ultimately heroic. Backed up by some dozy tame dragons and a friend even weedier than he is, Hiccup escapes from some exceedingly tight corners before another final disaster leaves things nicely poised for the next novel. Cressida Cowell is a splendid story-teller, with a gift for inventing outlandish names from Stoik the Vast to Gobber the Belch. She is also ceaselessly inventive when it comes to plot development; young readers are lucky to have her.