Claire Fan - Week 16: Return to One
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| The first book of How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. |
As of late, I’ve found myself returning to the basics. Beloved book series from my childhood sit on a bookshelf above my bed, waiting to be reopened. I vividly remember my favorite book series from my elementary school years: How to Train Your Dragon, a twelve-book series, deceptively silly.
On a reread, I have no idea how this became marketed as a children’s book series. Yes, earlier books have lighter themes, but starting from book six-ish, and really vamping up by book eight, the series transforms from a lighthearted read to a series exploring the topic of slavery, the evils of war, genocide, generational trauma…in retrospect, not something quite suitable for a young child to read.
Despite this, I still find myself in awe of how such delicate topics are handled in a mature, nuanced way while still being delicate enough for children 7-12 to read. At some point, the main character, Hiccup, is branded with a slave’s mark and then becomes a slave himself for a period of time. He undergoes unimaginable trials—while still being a teenager!—before his journey comes to an end.
When I was younger, I certainly didn’t grasp the larger themes at play (probably because I was in the first grade). The books are clearly written with young children in mind. For example, the main antagonist, Alvin the Treacherous, is unapologetically evil. That’s not to say he’s a flat character. Not even close. In the second book, he tells Hiccup something that can perfectly sum up his character: “The treasure has got me and I like being got.” He’s someone that grows with Hiccup, just in the opposite direction. Hiccup slowly steps into his (arguably destined) role of being a hero, while Alvin sinks further into depravity. To me, at least, those kinds of villains are the scariest and most formidable. He faces death just as many times as Hiccup and survives just as many times. The amount of luck Hiccup has is offset by the amount of luck Alvin has. At its core, How to Train Your Dragon is a book series about courage and coming-of-age—perfect for young children.
Revisiting How to Train Your Dragon has inspired me to reread other books I read in my childhood; so many of them are so different from how I remember them. It’s startling to think about how reading the same book through different lenses can so drastically change my understanding of the subject matter. I wonder what I’ll think about books I’m reading now when I revisit them in another twenty years.
Hi Claire, as soon as I saw the picture on your blog, I was ecstatic. I adore How to Train Your Dragon, especially the books, which I feel nobody has read. I remember I used to debate with the few who were willing to listen about how amazing and surprisingly deep Ruffnut and Tuffnut were, despite their carefree "surfer dude" exteriors. But How to Train Your Dragon is a series that possesses much more emotional depth than people like to give it credit for. The trials Hiccup faces, Hiccup's relationship with his father Stoic, his insecurities, and his ability to step away from what the Berk equivalent of "alpha male culture" is, as well as the Vikings' decimations of dragons being a reference to genocide, the franchise, both the movies and the book (not the live action movie), are incredibly complex. But what particularly interested me was your view on perspective, given that AP Psych seems to bleed into every aspect of my life, especially in the second semester, I realized how much it changes things; books, movies, and franchises are all so different when you re-experience them I recently went to pump it up the other day and all of the blow up structures were surprisingly much smaller than I remember them.
ReplyDeleteYour blog this week brought back memories of borrowing the entire series of How to Train Your Dragon books from the Centerville library and holing up in my room to read them all. I’ve always been obsessed with dragons and this series definitely fed into that obsession (along with Wings of Fire), which has stayed with me all my life so far, meaning the HTTYD books hold a special place in my heart too.
ReplyDeleteComing back to a series you used to love with a fresh, older pair of eyes often rekindles a new appreciation for what you got to grow up with; the quality of media you could not judge as a child but absorbed and were made better by nonetheless. This morning my math classmates and I were having a conversation about the cartoons and books we grew up with, when one of them brought up the fact that some children these days skip that phase of childhood when they immerse themselves in books. That is something very hard to imagine, for me at least: no Percy Jackson? No Warrior Cats? No How to Train Your Dragon? How?! As you mentioned, the HTTYD book series ramps up in theme over time, meaning the children reading it as the books got released would gradually have gotten introduced to deeper ideas as they themselves grew up. I would not believe it if someone said this was not done intentionally, with much thought put behind the decisions of which themes to include and how to introduce them. It is worrying that this approach to children’s books, and media in general, is always at risk of the phenomenon of the gradual downgrading of things meant for children; are books and cartoons not what taught us how to interact with the world? Why then are they not treated with the same importance as things made for adults?
Worrying aside, great job on your blog!
How to Train Your Dragon has been one of my favorite movie trilogies ever. I haven't read the books but I adored the movies growing up. Did the movies adapt the first few books? Personally, my childhood book was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and in my previous blog I talked about my reread last winter. I noticed a similar thing of how children's books often have extremely mature topics but handled with delicate care like to be weary of the power of language through the Queen of Hearts and Humpty Dumpty. Going back to HTTYD, the second movie was probably my favorite, especially with the further development of the world building and Stoick finally finding his wife. Reading this blog, I'm having the urge to rewatch the movies over summer break.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Hi Claire! Your blog took me through a wormhole of my previous love for reading. When I was younger, I used to adore reading countless stories, including The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Land of Stories, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter. These books have been dusting away on my bookshelf for years, as I have found that as I grow older, the less I have been reading, besides books that are required for classes. It brings me a feeling of mixed emotions, as on one side, the thought that I am growing up is bittersweet. However, it also deeply saddens me at times to know that something which I used to love to do in what seems like a past life is no longer a part of who I am today. Although I have never read How to Train Your Dragon, I am still taking your blog as a sign to start rereading those previous childhood titles over the summer and rediscover my inner child. Thanks for sharing!
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