  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 07/01/2004 Gr 3-5-Young Hiccup may be the son of Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans, but he isn't exactly heroic Viking material. When he and the other boys of his tribe are sent on a mission to fetch dragons to train, Hiccup comes back with the scrawniest creature ever seen. Toothless, as Hiccup names him, is also rude, lazy, and greedy, but when the tribe is faced with horrible danger, Hiccup's unorthodox dragon-training techniques prove successful and he and his unique beast become true heroes. Sprinkled throughout with funny sketches, scribbles, and ink blots, this is a goofy and exciting tale of an underdog who proves that brains can be just as important as brawn. Kids will hoot at the ridiculous names and sympathize with Hiccup's exasperation with his truly obstinate but strangely lovable dragon. A delightful read that fans of Ian Whybrow's "Little Wolf" series (Carolrhoda) will particularly enjoy.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/15/2004 Gross is the word for this wildly enjoyable comic fantasy that takes the old heroic Norse battle myths and covers them in slime and snot. Narrator Hiccup, the son of the ruler, is meant to be the next Warrior Chief, but he's a classical nerd, the least heroic boy in the old Hooligan tribe, so how is he to slay monsters? Grandpa says times are changing and the tribe needs a new leader, not just a big violent lump, but someone clever and cunning. Well, Hiccup tries, but he fails the initiation rites. Eventually, though he shows up Snotlout and the other bullies by getting the two gigantic monster dragons to fight one another, and though events take a bad turn after one of the dragons swallows him, things turn out fine; he escapes through the dragon's nose. The hilarious farce will appeal to heroic fiction fans as much as to scaredy-cats, especially since the author extends the nonstop parody with messy black-and-white pencil sketches of the bumbling bedlam. - Copyright 2004 Booklist. Loading...
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