Rating: Highly Recommended, but Needs Parent Supervision, I like it BUT some families may not.

Reading Level: Late Elementary, Middle School

This book was exciting, silly, and had some fun plot twists at the end. The hero, Hiccup, was again very much a David king: humble, gentle, loyal, and he even at one point pours his heart out in frustration at the gods in the same way we see David turning to God in the Psalms. (Hiccup admittedly lacked the Psalmist’s “but I will trust you”—type resolution…which is an answer to the essay question below.)

 The story had the usual concerns:

  • Viking mythology, Valhalla, and festivals for the Norse goddess Freya
  • Prophesy. A prophet who looks for signs in the fire
  • Fantasy. Dragons with magic & curses
  • Breasts. “Big boobied Bertha” makes a voluptuous appearance

In addition, this book has some new potential concerns:

  • Corporal Punishment. The chief gives one of the young Vikings a good spanking 
  • Disobedience to Authority. The chief (Hiccup’s father) forbids Hiccup from being friends with his dearest buddy, Fishlegs, and the chief forbids Hiccup from going on a quest to try to save Fishlegs from the dragon’s curse. Hiccup disobeys on both. But this raises interesting questions because especially in the former, the chief’s reasoning is awful. I could imagine great conversations here about when it is ok to disobey human authority in order to obey God’s authority.

Essay/Discussion questions: (spoiler alert!)

  • Revisit the moment when Hiccup turns his frustrations toward the Gods.  Then read Psalm 55.  Compare and Contrast these two heroes’ responses to distress.  (Both had honest emotion, but David turns to God, David has deeper personal relationship, David finished with renewed resolution to trust)
  • Twice Hiccup disobeys his father’s authority.  There are historical examples, such as Christian disobedience during the Nazi takeover. When is it ok for us to disobey authority, and what steps can we take to check that our disobedience is in accordance with God’s will and is pleasing to him?

Here are links to other books in the series that I have reviewed:

titlelinkrating
How to Train Your Dragon Book 1https://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/11/09/how-to-train-your-dragon-book-1-by-cressida-cowell/I like it BUT some families may not, Needs Parent Supervision (Other Religious Practices/Cultures, Body humor)
How to Train Your Dragon Book 2: How to be a Piratehttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/11/13/how-to-be-a-pirate-how-to-train-your-dragon-book-2-by-cressida-cowell/I like it BUT some families may not, Needs Parent Supervision (Other Religious Practices/Cultures, Body humor)
How To Train Your Dragon Book 3: How to Speak Dragonesehttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2023/11/16/how-to-speak-dragonese-how-to-train-your-dragon-book-3-by-cressida-cowell/I like it BUT some families may not, Needs Parent Supervision (Other Religious Practices/Cultures, Body humor)
How To Train Your Dragon Book 4: How to Cheat a Dragon’s Cursehttps://jesuslovesbookworms.com/2024/01/15/how-to-train-your-dragon-book-4-how-to-cheat-a-dragons-curse-by-cressida-cowell/I like it BUT some families may not, Needs Parent Supervision (Other Religious Practices/Cultures, Body humor)