Cressida Cowell Books

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Cressida Cowell is a popular children’s author that was born in 1966. A native of London, Cressida went to Oxford University from where she graduated with a degree in English Literature.

Cressida’s love for writing often clashed with her interest in drawing. Not only is she a writer but she also enjoys the prospect of illustrating her own work, which explains why she eventually went to St. Martin’s to Pursue a BA in Graphic design.

The author is best known for her Hiccup series, with How to Train Your Dragon being the most popular. One can probably trace the origins of the Hiccup series all the way back to Cressida’s childhood.

While Cressida was born and lived in London, she also spent some time on an uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. The small island was as isolated as they come, devoid of every modern amenity one can think of, from shops to roads, electricity and even houses.

Cressida would look forward to the moment they were dropped off on the island for two weeks, living a life free of communication with the outside world. The family eventually constructed a living space on the island.

They also acquired a boat and took to fishing as a source of food over the summer. One of Cressida’s fondest memories is the stories her father would tell her of the Vikings who burned a trail across the island archipelago in centuries gone by.

Cressida’s interest was piqued by the tribes and legends her father spoke of, and suddenly she didn’t think it so silly to imagine dragons coming alive within that setting. With no television to entertain her, Cressida took to writing during the summers she spent on the island.

And while her first foray into the publishing industry began with picture books that she was lucky enough to get published in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was her decision to finally write a story for older children that elicited success for Cressida Cowell.

All she had to do was to look back at the stories she wrote on the island as an eight-year-old child in order to find the inspiration. Eventually How to Train Your Dragon was written.

Cressida Cowell Awards

Cressida’s most notable accolade has to be the Nestle Children’s Book Award which she won in 2006. She won the prize for her illustrated work.

Cressida Cowell Books into Movies

Cressida Cowell’s first book was called How to Train Your Dragon. The Book was adapted into two animated movies in 2010 and 2014, featuring voices from actors like Gerald Butler, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wig and America Ferrera.

The first movie, which follows a young boy who goes against the grain of his tribe by befriending a dragon, was only loosely based on Cressida Cowell’s books and its success was such that it spawned an animated television show that premiered on Cartoon Network in 2012

Along with hitting it big at the Box Office, the movies earned a number of accolades. More sequels are expected to follow.

Best Cressida Cowell Books

Cressida Cowell has cemented her place in the world of children’s books, giving young readers worlds of magic that they can explore even while intriguing and entertaining adults, with some of the best books in her bibliography including the following:

How to be a Pirate: Hiccup Horrendous Haddokk III wasn’t always a legend. Like everyone else, the Viking hero had to start somewhere. He had to learn to fight, to endure shipwrecks and to do battle with psychopathic dragons.

This is a pretty simple and sweet novel, designed to drag readers once more into the world created in How to Train Your Dragon. Here, Hiccup gets a hard lesson in piracy. He learns of the important role he must play and the sacrifices he might have to make.

How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse: Fishlegs is in trouble. If Hiccup doesn’t hurry, his best friend might succumb to a terrible disease called Vorpentitis. But locating a cure won’t be easy. Hiccup must find a potato to save the day, but that means dealing with Doomfangs and taking on sharkworms.

This book has a lot of humor. However, Cressida Cowell imbues the story with emotion as well. Things do not go particularly well for the heroes and it is easy to see how children might find themselves gasping on a number of occasions.

When Does The Next Cressida Cowell book come out?

Cressida Cowell doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Which Way to Anywhere and was released on September, 15th 2022.

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