By Cressida Cowell
The first, and funniest, book about a small Viking boy who has to catch and train his own dragon, and winds up with the runtiest, rudest one on the whole island.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is not the Viking anyone expects to save the day. To join the tribe on the island of Berk, every boy his age has to raid a dragon nest, grab a baby dragon, and train it. Hiccup comes back with Toothless, who is about the size of a small dog, has barely any teeth, and is convinced he's the one in charge. Together they are a disaster. Then an enormous Seadragon washes up on the beach, the whole tribe is in real trouble, and it turns out the runt of the litter and the boy nobody counted on are the ones who have to fix it.
A child who just came off Wings of Fire and wants more dragons with a lighter touch will find this an easy breather. It's a whole world of dragons with names and moods and grudges, drawn on nearly every page in Cressida Cowell's scratchy, funny ink. The pull is Hiccup himself, the smallest and most overlooked boy on the island, who beats the giants by outthinking them. That's the kind of thing this age will happily read over and over. And there are twelve more books after it, so if your child clicks with Hiccup, you're set for a good while.