Mika and the Dragonfly

Ellen DeLange has been fascinated by picture books ever since she was a child growing up in the Netherlands. In the attic of her home, she assembled a small library and shared her collection with friends and family. As an adult, she started traveling and expanded her library with picture books from all over the world. Ellen also enjoyed inventing her own stories and was encouraged by her daughter to write her first picture book, A Story with a Tale. Ellen has a doctorate in medical sciences and currently lives in Canada where she loves to walk in the woods with her Jack Russell terriers, drink lots of tea after a busy day, and sail on the ocean to clear her mind.Martina Heiduczek grew up in a small village on the Baltic Sea in Germany. Here she used to gallop through the forests on her Shetland pony, but she also loved to read and draw. After her study design and illustration in Hamburg, Martina moved to Australia. She creates funny illustrations in a mixture of digital and traditional media, like gouache, colored pencil and layers of scanned pictures. Her work is inspired by nature, people, her two home countries and the emotionally moving and silly things she sees … Magic is everywhere!

"I think a lot of people need help trying to fit in in many situations. Mika shows us that if we enjoy something and have information about it and feel strongly about it, people will also enjoy hearing about it. Sharing your interests is a great way to make a friend and be a friend. When Mika interacts with her classmates with her dragonfly and the problem she is having, they are eager to learn about it too. That's the first step. The illustrations are just lovely, too." - Osterhout Free Library"What a sweet story about a symbiotic friendship between a little girl and a dragonfly. This story touches on friendship and empathy without being too preachy. Well done!" - Powhatan High School "Mika is a very shy little girl who spends her recess alone because she is too afraid to interact with her classmates. One day, she finds a three-winged dragonfly. She decides she will do whatever it takes to help this dragonfly fly again. Mika takes the dragonfly home and tries a number of ways to repair the dragonfly's wing to no avail. She takes the dragonfly to school the next day and all the students are interested in her little friend, and they ask her many questions. Mika's new friend helps her, while Mika helps her new friend. This book is a beautiful story of friendship and compassion, and how when we step out to help others, they in turn help us. I rated this book as 5/5 stars for outstanding. The characters are caring and children will love them. The pictures are a soft pastel watercolor that are beautiful and engaging." - Missy Kennedy (Educator)