Libraries are more than books. Some kids need a little direction to get the creative juices flowing. I gleaned the following from a PUBYAC contributor. If you're a member, check out the archives for 7-2010. Please add YOUR comments. Your colleagues would appreciate hearing what works, and what didn't!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell

INVITATIONS: Dragon or Viking Shield

DRESS:  Viking-horned hats (Up-side down bowls, with brown card-stock horns)

REFRESHMENTS: Recipes for Storytime

DECORATIONS: Sparse (Lots of room for activities)

CRAFTS/FAVORS:

• Design a dragon (draw and name a dragon)/Can be made into dragon trading cards
• Make a Viking shield -- Simply take Cardboard or Heavy Poster Board (not thin type) and cut out large circles, maybe about 24″+ round. Let the kids have fun decorating them with crayons. markers, stickers etc… Then, on the back, attach a handles so they can hold it and make sure it is secure – use duct tape, or Glue Gun to secure it. 
• Swords--cut out of cardboard boxes all ready for the attendees. Get them to colour and decorate them with crayons. (Optional: cover with tin foil.)

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:

• Create Viking nicknames (this can be done as a short group discussion or as a longer individual activity)
• Train your Dragons – Play this game as you would Simon Says – just that the leader will be a Viking (wear your hat) and all the guests at this point will be dragons.  See which Dragon (Guest) is the last one standing and will become your most Trainable Dragon.
• Mastering your Shield – The most important piece of equipment a Viking has is their shield. So why not test your Viking to make sure they have the skills to use it. Now here is where a fun craft comes into play.  In the movie How to Train a Dragon the Vikings are always having to fight off being hit by the Dragons Tails and the fire they breathe so lets see if your Vikings can master their shields.  For this I would take some Light weight balls like maybe Ping Pong Balls or Tin Foil Balls and line up your Viking while they are holding their shields. Then, on "go" throw a ball at one or two of them without them knowing who it will be and see if they can protect themselves from being hit using their shield. If they get hit then they are out and so on. This game is one they will want to play over and over – so be prepared!!!
• Dragon Tail Game – This is a fun game that all the kids play as they try to catch their tail – you will need lots of run for this one. What you do is have all the kids line up and create two teams. Then have the children hold on to each others waist all connected in a big line. The last child at the back will have a Dragon Tail – you can use a Bandanna or any piece of material and stick it in the back pocket of the last child in line. On go the child first in line has to try to get the Dragon’s tail while they all stay holding on to each other. The first team to capture their Dragon’s Tail wins and then the players switch places and go again until everyone has a turn.

PROGRAM: Complete the Dragon Initiation Program (DIP)

• Catch a dragon (tiptoe around noisy obstacles [bubble wrap, tin foil, whoopee cushions], dig through a bin of shredded paper to find a dragon [a film canister with a picture of a dragon], then tiptoe back)
• Fishing challenge (try to catch 3 fish with a magnetic fishing rod)
• Dragonese translation (translate given phrase(s) from Dragonese to English)
• Joke match-up (sort through piles of joke questions and joke answers, match up the questions and answers to form complete jokes)
• Allocate dragon points (add to dragon trading card) each kid starts with 10 dragon points to allocate and earns an additional 5 points for each DIP activity that he or she tried points can be allocated to any or all of the following seven statistics: Armed With, Defenses, Radar, Poison, Hunting Ability, Speed, Fear and Fight Factor
• Most Promising Dragon competition (optional) Divide kids into pairs and have them face each other, while holding their dragon trading cards. Call out a dragon statistic. Each kid shows their partner their trading card. The partner with the most points allocated to the given statistic either a.) moves on to another round of competition or b.) is declared to have the Most Promising Dragon. Repeat as time and interest dictates.

TIME: An hour and a half should be sufficient.