How to Train Your Dragon #9: How to Steal a Dragon's Sword Award-winning author/illustrator

Author/Illustrator

Cressida Cowell

Cressida grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. The island had no roads, houses or electricity. For the first four years, the family would be dropped off like castaways on the island by a local boatman and picked up again two weeks later. Imagine being like Robinson Crusoe and having a whole island to yourself to explore…

By the time Cressida was eight, the family had built a small stone house on the island, so they no longer had to camp out in tents, which made life much drier. Her father got a boat, so they could fish for enough food to feed the family for the whole summer.

Every year, Cressida spent the long summer holiday, and some of the spring, on the island. The house was lit by candle-light, and there was no electricity, telephone or television, so Cressida and the family lived like people in the olden days. In the evening, Cressida’s father told the children old Scottish tales about the people who lived on the islands round about, who were always fighting and tricking each other, and about dragons living in caves in the cliffs.

Cressida spent her time writing stories, fishing for things to eat, and exploring the island looking for these dragons. These childhood experiences (quite apart from her fluency in Old Norse, of course), made her delighted to be approached to translate the Hiccup memoirs…

After leaving school Cressida studied English at university, and then got degrees in graphic design and illustration at art college. For her final project at art school she created a childrens’ book called Little Bo Peep’s Library Book and was lucky enough to have that book published in 1998. She has gone on to write ten more picture books, including the popular Emily Brown stories, which won the Nestle Childrens’ Book Prize in 2006.

In 2002 she began to write a book for older children. Remembering the stories she had written on the island as a child, these ideas became the book How to Train Your Dragon. There are now nine books in the Hiccup series, and a DreamWorks Animation film of How to Train Y0ur Dragon came out in 2010!

Cressida lives in London with her husband, three children and a hamster.

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What kids think

1. 

   bookaholic202
   on 8 March 2014

   Excellinor really freaks me out. And the dragons and humans are fighting.

2. 

   coolcars
   on 11 October 2012

   I loved this book. The book takes a good turn then a bad turn. You will enjoy this read.

   5out of 5
3. 

   AmyXx
   on 7 March 2012

   Haven’t read this yet but i don’t think i will because i just hated the film!

4. 

   winnie7w
   on 3 March 2012

   AWSOME!!

5. 

   angelslater
   on 2 March 2012

   this book is really good and my brother has the film so i get to watch it aswell. great!!

6. 

   superskiboy
   on 1 March 2012

   How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword is another funny and hilarious book by Cressida Cowell. I enjoyed this book because Hiccup has so many challenges, and you’re not sure if he can complete them all!!

7. 

   ruudy
   on 1 March 2012

   its good

8. 

   cmiles
   on 24 February 2012

   Id love to read this book!!!