This book can serve many purposes. It offers an insight on the life cycles of dragonflies as well as offer comfort to those that are grieving.

Summary (Spoilers): Nym and her friend Lea young dragonflies (nymphs). Lea is older than Nym, and as such, is fuller along in her short, dragonfly life cycle. The two friends have a fight, and Nym is very angry at Lea, yelling at her. Lea does not wish to fight, and goes to find some flowers to try to smooth things over with her. However, we notice that Lea seemed tired and weighed down... when Nym comes home she cannot find Lea, and soon regrets her harsh words towards her friend. She becomes very sad, and the next night Nym falls asleep and dreams of hearing Lea speaking to her. Lea says that she is in a happy place, and that Nym will join her in that place soon (when she changes from a water nymph to a dragonfly).

A very interesting outlook on life cycles, but the interpretation is quite beautiful.

Reviewed by Jaglvr for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

For those trying to describe the sense of loss to young ones, THE DRAGONFLY DOOR is a perfect book to aid in the discussion.

Nym and Lea are two water nymphs that have grown up together. When a the mother lays her eggs, the parents leave the eggs to fend for themselves. So without parents, Nym and Lea have had to rely on each other. Lea is older than Nym and watches out for her.

One day, Nym gets upset at Lea for her constant reminders, such as cleaning the mud from her legs before getting into their bed of leaves. So Nym goes off in a huff, leaving Lea behind.

Wanting to apologize to Nym, Lea goes in search of Nym's favorite water flowers. But on her journey, she becomes short of breath, and doesn't return home.

When night falls, Nym becomes worried, and spends the night alone. The next day, while searching for Lea, Nym becomes increasingly concerned. Still unable to find Lea, at night, while asleep, Nym hears Lea's voice. It calms Nym and tells her to follow her so that she can see where Lea has gone.

Though the book can explain death to small children, the story can also be more than that. At the back of the book is an explanation of the dragonfly lifecycle. It helps explain how things do not stay the same, that things are always changing. Though it seems like Lea has died, she has really gone on to better things; in this example, she has changed into a dragonfly. ( )