Cressida Cowell


Cressida Cowell FRSL is a British author. She is best known for the book series How to Train Your Dragon, which has subsequently become a media franchise as adapted by DreamWorks Animation. As of 2015, the series has sold more than seven million copies around the world.
In addition to her other publications, Cowell works with illustrator Neal Layton in the ongoing series of Emily Brown stories. The first in the series, That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, won a Nestlé Children’s Book Award.

Personal life

The Hon. Cressida Cowell was born on 15 April 1966 in London. She is the daughter of Michael Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham. Her uncle, by marriage, is former U.S. Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.
As a child, Cowell states she "grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland," and that it was during summers spent on the Inner Hebrides, where she first began to develop her writing and drawing skills:
Cowell attended Keble College, Oxford where she studied English, and she also attended Saint Martin's School of Art and Brighton University where she learned illustration. She studied at Marlborough College.
Cressida Cowell presently lives in London with her husband Simon, a former director and interim CEO of the International Save the Children Alliance; daughters Maisie and Clementine; and son Alexander.

List of works

''How to Train Your Dragon'' books

How to Train Your Dragon How to Be a Pirate How to Speak Dragonese How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse How to Twist a Dragon's Tale A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons How to Ride a Dragon's Storm How to Break a Dragon's Heart How to Steal a Dragon's Sword How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel How to Betray a Dragon's Hero
  • ''How to Fight a Dragon's Fury''

''Emily Brown'' books

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown Emily Brown and the Thing Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown!
  • ''Emily Brown and Father Christmas''

''The Wizards'' books

The Wizards of Once The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic The Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times
  • ''The Wizards of Once: Never and Forever''

''The Treetop Twins Adventures'' books

The Twins Take on T. Rex The Twins Discover a Diplodocus The Twins Meet a Massospondylus The Twins Climb a Camarasaurus The Twins Play with a Plesiosaur The Twins Help a Hadrosaur The Twins Have a Picnic with a Spinosaurus The Twins Track Down a Triceratops The Twins Meet a Mystery Dinosaur The Twins Save a Stegosaurus The Twins Meet a Hatzegopteryx
  • ''The Twins Meet Two Tyrannosaurs''

''The Treetop Twins: Wilderness Adventures'' books

The Twins Follow a Polar Bear The Twins Meet a Quagga The Twins Help a Pink Dolphin The Twins Discover a Dodo The Twins Walk With a Woolly Mammoth The Twins Track a Tiger The Twins Meet a Monkey The Twins Greet a Great Auk The Twins Pursue a Penguin The Twins Run After a Rhino The Twins Watch a Whale
  • ''The Twins Seek a Saola''

''The Tiny Detectives'' books

Can Trees Talk? Do Fish Glow in the Dark? Do Spiders Have Pets? Do Koalas Have Fingerprints? Why Do Stars Twinkle? Can Animals Walk on Water? Is the Middle of the Earth Hot? Why is the Sky Blue? Can Wolves See in the Dark? Can it Snow in the Desert? Is There Life at the Bottom of the Deepest Ocean?
  • ''Can Butterflies Taste With Their Feet?''

Other books

Little Wonder Little Bo Peep's Library Book Don’t Do That, Kitty Kilroy What Shall We Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby Hiccup the Viking Who Was Seasick One Too Many Tigers Claydon Was a Clingy Child Super Sue Daddy on the Moon Super Sue at Super School There's No Such Thing as a Ghostie Little Bo Peep’s Troublesome Sheep The Story of Tantrum O'Furrily Which Way to Anywhere
  • ''Which Way Round the Galaxy''

Awards

Cowell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature.
In 2021, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.