Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies
by Blair Nikula, Donald Stokes, Jackie Sones, Lillian Stokes
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Book Reviews of Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies
Book Review: One of the Best Pocket Guides in Print
Summary: 5 Stars
This concise little guide is designed with the beginner in mind with its tons of information on distinguishing the difference between dragonflies and their cousins the damselflies. It come replete with lots of large photos of many of the major species of Odonata. Its only shortcoming is that is tends to lean more to species of the eastern United States. For this reason, family species like the Setwings, among others, are omitted.
Especially helpful is the introduction and easy id charts on the inside of front and back covers. This little book is worth its weight in gold on account of these charts alone!
Book Review: A good beginner's guide
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful introduction to dragonflies for children or anyone looking to learn more about these remarkable insects. It briefly explains life cycles, characteristics, and habits, and gives clear, concise information about some of the major dragonfly families. It's small enough to take with you, (4 1/2" X 7"), the photographs are beautiful, and the color-coding of families is an excellent tool for identification.
If you're looking for a more detailed field guide that lists nearly all of the 300 dragonfly species in North America, try "Dragonflies Through Binoculars" by Sidney Dunkle.
Book Review: Excellent Guide for a Beginner
Summary: 5 Stars
This book lives up to its title: it is an excellent first guide for someone just beginning to observe the marvelous "Odes." (Odes, short for Odonata, the scientific name for the Order of Dragonflies and Damselflies, is a word you're likely to become familiar with.) Besides a good pictorial introduction to the main families, the book provides a solid introduction to the life cycle, one that will probably inspire you to read more. The color tabs on the edge of the book are very helpful for quickly locating the right pages for identification. All in all, a great book.Book Review: Gosh some of those dragonflies look like Apache helicopters!
Summary: 3 Stars
Two things that the other reviewers might not have covered:1. It only contains dragonflies from North America.
*sarcasm on*
This is truuuly indispensable to someone living in Australia.
*sarcasm off*
2. The size. It is a lot smaller than I expected at only 4.5 x 7".
3. If you're more interested in general dragonfly facts, get the other book "Dragonflies of the world" instead, for it contains fascinating information on dragonfly flight behaviour, larval stages, camoflage, temperature regulation, etc.
Book Review: Stokes Dragonfly Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a handy little pocket guide. There is a beginning key to direct the user towards the right type of dragonfly, and useful information and descriptions of the anatomy of the insect. There is no way a book this size can include every species; they make sure they have enough representatives of each family that if you do not find the one you are looking for you can at least narrow the search to the family before looking further. This is a nice and inexpensive guide.