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By Kim Stacks Mills

Sparkle Girl and Doobins are quite the adventurers. But don’t expect to find them visiting a farm, taking a safari in Africa or even heading to the beach on a family vacation. Their adventures are much more imaginative. And with good reason.

“The Wonderful World Of Sparkle Girl & Doobins” (Author: Ralph Kim Underwood, Garnet Goldman; hardcover, 48 pages, Published by Books By Kim Underwood September 2009, Distributed by John F. Blair, Publisher) was taken directly from stories the author dreamed up to share with the two kids the book is named after. The kids encounter a magic store (where you can buy magic milk and magic ice), fairies (who return kisses to their rightful owners), the man in the moon (who comes for tea) and Jerome the giraffe (who usually drives a convertible but takes his bicycle when his car is in the shop).

As you can guess, kids who have vivid imaginations will enjoy this book more than kids who don’t. I read it to one child who is a dreamer and one child who has a more practical outlook on things. The first child loved it, the second child … not so much.

The artwork was created by Garnet Goldman and looks a lot like the artwork she features on her Web site: garnetgoldman.com. It’s simplistic but full of details at the same time. The characters’ facial features are simple but then you see a photo hanging on the wall that includes intricate details. And much like the stories, you have to let your imagination roam to appreciate the illustrations. Anything, including the sky, grass and trees, can be covered in polka dots. Flowers can look more like butterflies than blooms.

Sparkle Girl and Doobins are surrounded by strong family connections, and the stories teach good lessons, including generosity, not judging things by how they look and working together to accomplish more than you could alone. But they are stories and lessons best shared with children who really like to pretend.