How to Train Your Dragon Books in Order
How to Read the How to Train Your Dragon series
Standalone stories, but characters and relationships develop across the series.
Publication order gives the best experience for the How to Train Your Dragon series. Each book has a complete central plot with its own adventure and resolution, but character relationships, Hiccup’s personal growth, and the larger story of Vikings and dragons carry across the volumes. Readers who begin later in the series will understand the main events yet miss the deepening bond between Hiccup and Toothless, evolving friendships, and context for ongoing developments in Berk.
About the How to Train Your Dragon series
Series Premise
The How to Train Your Dragon series follows Hiccup, a small and clever Viking boy, as he challenges his tribe’s traditions by befriending and training dragons. Each book centers on a new adventure involving dragon conflicts, tribal politics, and ancient mysteries while Hiccup grows from an unlikely hero into a leader.
Main Characters
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the inventive and thoughtful central protagonist who becomes a dragon trainer and leader. His dragon Toothless serves as his loyal and mischievous companion, while friends like Fishlegs and Astrid, along with his father Stoick the Vast, form the core recurring cast.
Setting
The series is set primarily on the Viking island of Berk and its surrounding seas, featuring dragon-filled skies, rocky cliffs, and hidden caves. Stories expand to distant islands and ancient dragon territories as the characters explore beyond their home waters.
Tone & Themes
The tone mixes humor, adventure, and heart with clever wordplay and action. Central themes include courage in being different, friendship across differences, challenging tradition, and finding peaceful solutions in a world built on conflict.
Is This Series Worth Reading?
This series appeals to children ages 8–12 who enjoy humorous fantasy, dragon stories, and young heroes who rely on brains over brawn. It suits readers who want illustrated chapter books with excitement, heart, and Viking-inspired fun.
Content Warnings and Heat Level
Mild fantasy peril and dragon battles; light-hearted humor with no strong language or romance; appropriate for middle-grade readers.
The How to Train Your Dragon series builds a rich world of Vikings and dragons through Hiccup’s continuing journey. Its structure rewards sequential reading while delivering satisfying individual adventures. The combination of humor, friendship, and growing heroism makes it a standout middle-grade fantasy series.
FAQ
14 books total: 12 main + 2 companion books
No new book is currently scheduled. The latest book, How to Train Your Dragon: A Journal for Heroes, was published in November 2015.
How to Train Your Dragon: A Journal for Heroes was published in November 2015.
The first book in the series is How to Train Your Dragon, published in May 2004.
The series primarily falls into the Fantasy Adventure genre.
It’s best to read the series in order. Each book has its own story, but ongoing character arcs and relationships develop across the series.
The How to Train Your Dragon series follows Hiccup, a small and clever Viking boy, as he challenges his tribe’s traditions by befriending and training dragons. Each book centers on a new adventure involving dragon conflicts, tribal politics, and ancient mysteries while Hiccup grows from an unlikely hero into a leader.
The series does not currently have a new book scheduled.