Really cute book! Would be great to read to my younger cousins. The audiobook version (READ BY DAVID TENNANT!) was thoroughly charming with a few lulls for the adult reader.

WHAT I LIKED
1) deeply imaginative. Wow. Just- this is one of those kids books that I’ve gotta marvel at. The idea behind this book and the plot execution. It’s all so immersive! Color me impressed.

2) Dreamworks quality humor. Shrek would be proud. No further comment.

3) world building. Related to #1. Not only was the idea for the story clever and well put together, the world building itself is REALLY well done. The characters are all, well, characters. They’ve got distinct personalities and defined roles in the machine of the storyline. Everyone has interactions and storylines with everyone else. Lives are connected to each other as background pieces and not necessarily just to complement story. The whole thing just feels grand and complete and thorough.

4) underdog story. Hiccup!!!!!!! The!!!!!! Useful!!!!!!!! Who doesn’t love a good underdog? Hiccup is just... so relatable. He’s awkward and bookish and just wants to be friends with dragons because his human friends are not the greatest. And he stays so optimistic and motivated!!! And that propels him to happiness! Amazing!!!

5) songs. Songs will ALWAYS be a great addition in children’s books. A l w a y s. They add an extra dimension of intrigue.

6) knowledge as strength. As a Huffleclaw (or Ravenpuff, take your pick), I was of course delighted by the story’s animal-centric perspective. I expected to be delighted by this though. I figured that dragons would be involved based on the title alone. What I was not expecting was the theme that knowledge is strength, and that strength is exponentially more powerful when society is lacking in knowledge. It’s a great theme for young readers, and this is a fantastic book for aspiring zoologist/paleontologist kiddos. This does a great job of blending the pursuit of knowledge ideal into a distinctly imaginative children’s story.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
1) lulls. Some of the fighting felt a little too contrived to me, but I’m sure the younger readers love it.

2) all boys society? Where are the women? This isn’t a contemporary feminism critique, this is just a straight up confused remark. Literally WHERE are the gals? Obviously there are women somewhere. Kids are still being born. (Or were being born as of 13-ish years ago?) Are the women in a neighboring tribe? Maybe this gets answered later on in the series.

3) conclusive enough for me. There are other books in the series, and that’s great for the author, but I don’t really need to read them. I liked the characters and the plot, but this book was conclusive enough for me. No further reading necessary. Young readers might feel the same way.