How a run-in with a giant eel influenced Cressida Cowell's bestselling book series
How to Train Your Dragon is one of the most successful children's franchises of all time, spanning books, animated movies and a new live-action remake that just hit the big screen.
With its focus on mythical fire-breathing creatures, this fantasy series might seem as far from reality as you can get. But author Cressida Cowell, the creator of the original book series, says a lot of the story was inspired by her real-life childhood experiences.
Growing up in the 1970s, Cowell spent every summer holiday roughing it with her family on a remote Scottish island without electricity. Her father, a businessman, was an avid outdoorsman who took every opportunity to live off-the-grid in nature.
"His heart was in the wilderness," Cowell tells Q guest host Gill Deacon in an interview. "Every year from when I was a baby, we would be dropped off on this uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland and picked up again two weeks later."
When Cowell was nine, her dad built a house on the island so their family could vacation there all summer. She remembers him telling her stories about the Vikings who had once invaded the area.
This gigantic six-and-a-half foot conger eel was writhing around in the lobster pot.
"This was Viking Scotland, basically, it was the first place the Vikings came to when they invaded Great Britain and it was the last place they left," she says. "Lots of the stories from the islands … were about dragons because Vikings thought that dragons were real."
One day, while out fishing with her dad, Cowell had a surprise encounter with a real-life monster.
"My dad put this lobster pot over the side and he jumped back on the boat and this gigantic six-and-a-half foot conger eel was writhing around in the lobster pot," she says with a laugh. "He had to tie it to the back of the boat because he couldn't take it on, you know, these things are huge! … You can see why Vikings believed that dragons were real."
The author says her relationship with her father, whom she describes as being "fearless," is very much reflected in her books.
Cowell has just released a new spin-off novel, How To Train Your Dragon School: Doom of the Darkwing, which is out now.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Montreal Gazette
Books for Kids: Worlds collide in Kenneth Oppel's riveting novel
Books Best of All Worlds By Kenneth Oppel Penguin Teen Canada Age 12 and older Thirteen-year-old Xavier Oak, a gamer and avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons (and the narrator of Kenneth Oppel's new book), had reluctantly agreed to spend the weekend at the family's lakeside cottage with his father, Caleb, and pregnant stepmother, Nia. Older brother Sam had a soccer game and stayed home with their mother. But when Xavier woke up that first morning at the cottage, his life changed dramatically — and apparently forever. He heard a goat bleating, and when he looked out the window he saw that the lake was gone and the cottage was now on farmland. What's more, when he and his father explored the property, they eventually discovered that other than two goats, 15 chickens and some ducks, they were the only signs of life under a seemingly impenetrable dome. Xavier concludes they've been abducted by aliens, and that the biodome, with a diameter of about 10 kilometres and a circumference of 32 kilometres, is somewhere in outer space. What follows is a riveting account of three people making a life for themselves away from everything they have ever known, joined within days by an infant who has never known anything else. When, 41 pages into this book, I discovered they'd been living this way for three years — and become proficient farmers in the process — I was shocked, and Xavier's longing for his mother and his brother Sam became especially poignant. By now they had seven goats in addition to the chickens, and three-year-old Noah found a puppy in the orchard. Xavier knows their unidentified abductors — simply referred to as 'they' throughout the book — have a soft spot for Noah, occasionally leaving him gifts. He was the result of a difficult birth and 'they' knocked the family out, saved the baby, and even changed the bloody sheets. Xavier, meanwhile, feels more and more like an outsider as he misses his mother and older brother; when his phone dies, he feels especially devastated, since he has spent three years texting his brother (albeit without service). 'All my music and pictures, all my one-way conversations with Sam, gone forever,' he tells us. When Xavier stumbles onto a site apparently intended for another dwelling, and watches a horde of 'glittering midges' construct a two-storey lodge that turns out to belong to a family with two daughters — one a 16-year-old, the other about four — this already fantastic story takes even more incredible twists and turns, with issues that will strike readers as surprisingly timely and current. A blurb on the back cover has author David Levithan calling this book a masterpiece, adding: 'As soon as you finish, you'll want to talk to someone about it.' That was certainly the case for me, although the first thing I did was reread the whole book in hopes of finding answers to the questions I still had about this well-crafted story — one that kept me guessing right to the end.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
How a run-in with a giant eel influenced Cressida Cowell's bestselling book series
How to Train Your Dragon is one of the most successful children's franchises of all time, spanning books, animated movies and a new live-action remake that just hit the big screen. With its focus on mythical fire-breathing creatures, this fantasy series might seem as far from reality as you can get. But author Cressida Cowell, the creator of the original book series, says a lot of the story was inspired by her real-life childhood experiences. Growing up in the 1970s, Cowell spent every summer holiday roughing it with her family on a remote Scottish island without electricity. Her father, a businessman, was an avid outdoorsman who took every opportunity to live off-the-grid in nature. "His heart was in the wilderness," Cowell tells Q guest host Gill Deacon in an interview. "Every year from when I was a baby, we would be dropped off on this uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland and picked up again two weeks later." When Cowell was nine, her dad built a house on the island so their family could vacation there all summer. She remembers him telling her stories about the Vikings who had once invaded the area. This gigantic six-and-a-half foot conger eel was writhing around in the lobster pot. "This was Viking Scotland, basically, it was the first place the Vikings came to when they invaded Great Britain and it was the last place they left," she says. "Lots of the stories from the islands … were about dragons because Vikings thought that dragons were real." One day, while out fishing with her dad, Cowell had a surprise encounter with a real-life monster. "My dad put this lobster pot over the side and he jumped back on the boat and this gigantic six-and-a-half foot conger eel was writhing around in the lobster pot," she says with a laugh. "He had to tie it to the back of the boat because he couldn't take it on, you know, these things are huge! … You can see why Vikings believed that dragons were real." The author says her relationship with her father, whom she describes as being "fearless," is very much reflected in her books. Cowell has just released a new spin-off novel, How To Train Your Dragon School: Doom of the Darkwing, which is out now.
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Globe and Mail
Your daily horoscope: June 25, 2025
Not only is there a new moon on your birthday this year but other influences suggest now is the time to make some serious personal and professional adjustments. Don't aim to change things around the edges – it's time for a full-on lifestyle reset. If a family relationship has gone off course a bit in recent weeks then today's new moon will help get it back on track. In the greater scheme of things it's really not such a big deal, so don't get too emotional about it. You may not be the most flexible sign of the zodiac but even you can see that some major changes are needed and that if you don't make them now you may not get another chance. Don't just adapt to survive – adapt to thrive! The more you feel that your actions have been restricted in recent weeks the more today's new moon will clear the way to get things done. Don't let a lack of ready cash hold you back – the universe will provide you with everything you need. A new moon in your sign makes this the day when you really can change your life in radical ways, so don't limit yourself to minor adjustments here and there, raise your sights and aim for the stars. Fame and fortune are yours for the asking. It's not in your nature to get emotional about things but lately there have been signs that your tough exterior is beginning to crack. If something happens today that brings tears to your eyes you must let them flow – because they will be tears of joy. Your ideas are as good as other people's ideas, if not better, so let the world know what you are planning and then go all out to turn those big ideas into stunning realities. If you can think it you can do it – it's really that simple. If you need to deal with employers and people in positions of authority you could not pick a better day to approach them. You will give off just the right vibes to impress them and before you know it you will be at the top table too. You may be cautious by nature but with so much activity in the most adventurous area of your chart it would be a crime of cosmic proportions not to take a risk or two. Don't hesitate for a moment – think and act fast over the next 24 hours. You may not be able to choose what you have to do today but you can certainly choose to make the best possible job of it. No matter how boring the task in front of you may be, aim to approach it in an enthusiastic frame of mind. If you go out of your way to let others know how much you care for them today they will go out of their way to care for you long into the future. Don't hold back in your affections – shower them with love every chance you get. This may be a hectic phase for you but you can still find time to help friends and colleagues with work-related tasks. Your skill at getting to the bottom of a problem will save them money and effort and they will appreciate it immensely. If you strive to look on the bright side of each and every situation you encounter today you will realize that the world is still a wonderful place. Actually, it has always been a wonderful place but sometimes that fact is easily overlooked. Discover more about yourself at
