Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Summer has begun! Today I am sharing a fun, fantasy picture book that is perfect for some summer fun. It is How to Ride a Dragonfly by Kitty Donohoe and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. I am also including fun facts about dragonflies and a craft round-up.

From the Publisher:

Like a laugh-out-loud spin on Thumbelina, this whimsical, beautifully illustrated picture book stars an adventurous little girl who shrinks down to the size of a bug and takes a tour of the swamp on a dragonfly's back.

Have you ever wanted to ride a dragonfly? Well, there’s one problem… You’re too big! But if you follow these simple steps, you'll be sure to have a fantastic journey:

Step 1: Put a rose petal in your pocket at sunrise, which will make you shrink. But don't forget: you must return by sunset-- or else you’ll stay shrunk!

Step 2: Pick a blade of grass and lasso the first dragonfly that buzzes by--we'll call her Priscilla. Climb aboard!

Step 3: Joust a bumblebee, groove to the Beetle Band, dine with fairies, and have an adventure. Watch out for the frogs! They love to eat dragonflies, and Priscilla looks quite tasty...

Oh, dear! The sun is almost touching the mountains. Can you and Priscilla zip back in time before sunset?

With a delightfully funny text by an elementary school teacher and deliciously playful artwork by a beloved illustrator, here is the perfect picture book for any child in search of adventure!

From Me:

This is such a fun and magical book. To me it is the perfect summer story. After all what young girl does not dream of riding a dragonfly and having tea with fairies. I imagine the young boys would love to ride a dragonfly as well and enjoy the thistle sword battle with a bee. The story is imaginative and well thought out. I mean who hasn't thought about shrinking to do amazing and magical things.

The illustrations are colorful and fun. It makes the everyday world of a bug feel magical. Plus, it throws in a few fun facts about dragonflies. Did you know dragonflies eat mosquitoes? They do!! Talk about a helper in our environment. This book overall is a fun, feel good book that young children will love. Plus it opens to talk about fantasy as well as about dragonflies, bees and more! I hope you will check it out! To go with the book I am sharing some fun facts about dragonflies and a round-up of dragonfly crafts!

Fun Facts about Dragonflies

They are prehistoric and have been around for over 350 million years. They are older than dinosaurs. Prehistoric dragonflies had wingspans of up to two feet. Today’s dragonflies have a wingspan of two to five inches. There are around 7000 species of dragonflies.
They are often confused with their close cousins, damselflies. Damselflies and dragonflies make up the Odonata order. Dragonflies have four wings and damselflies have two. Dragonflies land with their wings open and damselflies land with their wings close to its body. Damselfly eyes are separated where most dragonflies' eyes are together.

Dragonfly Larva

Dragonflies have serrated teeth. They are members of the Odonata order. Odonata comes from Greek for “toothed one”.
Around midsummer female dragonflies lay eggs in fresh water by dipping their abdomens in the body of water. The eggs hatch in about seven to eight days. The larvae are called naiads or nymphs.

Baby Damselfly

They have their larva underwater. Their larva stage can last up to two years. They eat just about anything in it including tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other larvae.

Damselfly & Dragonfly

At the end of the larva stage the dragonfly crawls out of the water. Its exoskeleton cracks open. It releases the abdomen and then its four wings unfold. The wings dry and harden within a several hours to days.
Dragonfly

A dragonfly’s wings can fly at speeds of 22-34 miles per hour.
Dragonflies can fly in any direction including backwards.
Dragonflies can control all four of their wings independently.
Adult dragonflies live off mosquitoes, moths, flies, and smaller dragonflies. They can catch their prey with their feet while in flight. They bite off the heads of their victims to immobilize them. They catch about 95% of their intended prey. They also calculate where the prey is going and their speed to hunt them.
In Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, success, strength and happiness. In the west there are legends and names for dragonflies that make them sound evil and sinister. Their name comes from the Romanians who used the same word for “devil” and “dragon”. It is believed that their word for “devil’s fly” became dragonfly in English.
The dragonfly’s head is almost entirely its eyes. A dragonfly’s eye has up to 24,000 lenses. They are able to see nearly 360⁰.
Dragonflies are coldblooded but can warm themselves by vibrating their wings, a process called wing-whirring. However dragonflies can also get too hot. They will go in a special pose called the obelisk pose. It is almost a handstand.
Adult dragonflies can live for only weeks or up to a year depending on the species.
Scientists consider dragonflies indicators of the health of an ecosystem due to the level of oxygen and clean water they need. In 2009, it was shown that 10 % of the dragonfly species are under threat of extinction. They are found all over the world except in Antarctica.

Sources:

Heimbuch, Jaymi. “8 Things You Never Knew about Dragonflies.” Treehugger. 23 June 2022. https://www.treehugger.com/things-you-never-knew-about-dragonflies-4864302
National Geographic. “Dragonflies.” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/dragonflies-insects/
Wighton, Shash. “15 Awesome Facts About Dragonflies.” The Fact Site. 14 January 2023. https://www.thefactsite.com/dragonfly-facts/
Zielinski, Sarah. “14 Fun Facts About Dragonflies.” Smithsonian Magazine. 5 October 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-dragonflies-96882693/

Dragonfly Craft Round-Up

I started by making a rock and shell dragonfly for you. It involves finding the right shapes in rocks and shells to make the creature you want. We have made many rock and shell pictures over the years. Here is my dragonfly!