How to Be a Pirate

Just a fantastic book, as are all of Ms. Cowell's books. We'll put this on the computer for the kids to listen to while we go about the house, and everyone winds up following the story, laughing, etc.


Just a great book, and we own the whole series of printed books now, and all of the ones available on audio.

We began the How to Train Your Dragon series listening to the David Tennant-narrated version and fell in love with it. My 5 year old girl and husband and I all wanted to stay in the car to finish chapters, and we often find ourselves imitating Toothless. We recently went on a road trip and were really looking forward to How to Be A Pirate, but were quite disappointed with the narration as compared to David Tennant's narration of the first story. Though we eventually became interested in the story line, it took a while to get over the flat narration of this book.

The story is very engaging but it is the narration that I really loved. Gerard Doyle does an excellent job with the voices and unlike some narrators he never misses a beat, the voices stay consistant throughout; that way you can stay engrossed in the story. Even mom and dad wanted to sit in the car and listen until til the chapter was over.

I love that Hiccup the hero of the story is an ordinary boy laden with great expectations. He struggles with the feelings of inadequacy that many children struggle with. This makes him a very relatable character and it makes it a very empowering story for children too. My child loved it and I enjoyed listen with them too.

This is a very fun listen for a wide range of ages. I have a 10 and 13 year old who both love it. I also know of a 7 year old who loves this book. I will also admit that the parents have been enjoying the humor. We listen to audible books for long car rides and this series is high on the list for our family.