HOW TO CHEAT A DRAGON’S CURSE

Once again, the small and seemingly powerless triumph over the huge and hulking, when, as to prevent a horrible death, young Chieftain’s son Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III sets out in search of . . . The Vegetable That No One Dares Name. Well-populated with thuggish, aptly named adversaries like Snotface Snotlout and Norbert the Nutjob, Hiccup’s latest adventure takes him—along with his drama queen mini-dragon, Toothless, and reckless but capable companion, Camicazi, daughter of Big-Boobied Bertha—to the Island of Hysteria, and then to a confrontation with a mountainous marine dragon known as a Doomfang. Illustrated, like its three series predecessors, with both scribbly sketches and random blots of ink, this seemingly farcical outing delivers more than it promises, continuing to develop the theme that a true leader is better served by brains and a conscience than by brawn alone. (Fantasy. 10-12)