1. • Smithsonian Magazine, Notable Book for Children, 2001
2. • Junior Library Guild selection
3. • John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers

A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly; by Laurence Pringle, illus. by Bob Marstall

Pringle tells a richly detailed story of one green darner dragonfly, Anax, and his journey from hatching in a New York state swamp to mating and dying in a Florida pond. Rarely do books of this nature delve so deeply into one species and its life cycle, migration, habitats, and interactions with other animals and plants. The narrative is packed with factual information yet is not tiresome to read. Indeed, the depth of the explanations may further stimulate readers' interest in dragonflies and other winged insects. Marstall's delicate watercolor and oil illustrations in predominately light browns and greens provide intricate detail and close-up views of the stages of dragonfly anatomical development. Throughout the book, interesting tidbits about dragonflies, the researchers who study them, and related scientific facts can be found in the margins. Directions for catching and caring for dragonfly nymphs at the end of the book encourage observation of several of the molting stages. Suggested resources for further reading are plentiful, though readers should be aware that many of the sources listed (and all of the websites) are for an older audience than that of the book. D.J.R

A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly by Pringle, Laurence, illustrated by Bob Marstall. 2001. 64pp. $18.95 hc. Orchard Books/Scholastic. 0-531-30315-2. Grades 3-6

1. • After teaching art in elementary, middle and high schools, I began illustrating professionally in 1983. Since 1994 I have focused exclusively on nonfiction books for children and on the relationship between art and science.
2. • Keynote speeches: Mazza Museum Summer Institute 2003 at the University of Findlay (OH); and a Montana State University conference, "Integrating Art and Science", in 2000.
3. • Large-group presentations: include annual conventions of the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Library Association, and the International Reading Association.

1. • The Lady and the Spider by Faith McNulty, (HarperCollins, 1986), a Reading Rainbow Book; winner of the Parents Choice Award for Illustration; selected as one of "1001 best books of the 20th century" in the NY Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children (1^{st Ed.). Over 225,000 sold.}
2. • ^{An Extraordinary Life: the Story of a Monarch Butterfly by Laurence Pringle, (Orchard Books, 1997), winner of the NCTE’s 1998 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children}

(I’m the first artist to share the award equally with an author); an ALA Notable Book; an IRA Teacher’s Choice; selected as one of "1001 best books of the 20th century" in the NY Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children (3rd Ed.)

1. • Down, Down, Down in the Ocean, by Sandra Markle (Walker & Co., 1999), a Parent’s Choice Recommended selection; an NSTA Recommended selection.
2. • A Dragon in the Sky: the Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly, by Laurence Pringle, (Orchard Books, Spring 2001), a Junior Library Guild Bookclub selection; a Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book for Children, 2001 selection.
3. • Crows: Strange and Wonderful, by Laurence Pringle (Boyd’s Mill Press 2002), selected for the 2002 John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers.

1. • In 2002, I was a recipient of a National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Program Grant to conduct research for a nonfiction book about Weddell seals in Antarctica. I subsequently spent five weeks in the austral spring of 2002 studying and recording seals and seal scientists on the frozen McMurdo Sound, 750 miles from the South Pole, and I am currently developing two separate book projects from that experience.
2. • I currently teach (with Faith Deering, an entomologist and Smithsonian consultant) an inquiry-based online graduate-level science course on "observation methodology" for Montana State University and directed at elementary school teachers (we use live colonies of milkweed bugs, sent to each classroom, to teach about insects, the scientific method, and the nature of observation).

For information about arranging slide-illustrated talks and workshops at your school or organization, please contact me directly.