In the imaginary land where fanciful personified animals live, frolic, and thrive, readers are brought to the Five Mile Farm, to meet Carly, a young girl, who rules the roost as being a friend and caretaker for many animals. The animals include a few friendly dogs: a wiener named Okie; a Yorkie named Mollie; Grumps, who disliked everyone and was missing a few teeth, a visiting dog named Blue; a cat; some bunnies and birds; and interestingly a queen bee named Queen Nora. Yet Carly wished for and always wanted a pony.  Author Kimberly Adams, along with amazing illustrations by artist David Gnass, orchestrates these beautiful characters into a story of friendship – while instilling a morale of dreams coming true, in her book, Five Mile Charlie: A Special Pony for Carly.  In a whirlwind of activity, one day Queen Nora sees a pony which would be ideal for Carly. Upon arriving back at her hive, she does a special “waggle” dance which shows the worker bees how to find the pony and herd it back to Five Mile Farm for Carly. When Carly sees this beautiful pony with big eyes, a fluffy coat and a huge smile, she names it Charlie. But Charlie is no ordinary pony, it is a very special pony – in fact it is a Llama – but that does not seem to matter to Carly who instantly loves Charlie.  This book brings together creative text and images which create a storyboard in the minds of its readers, that is exactly the goal of this very popular genre of illustrated children’s stories. Ending with, “Be kind, be brave, be strong, be bold. The story of Five Mile Charlie will continue…” suggests Carly and Charlie will go on to have more engaging adventures and become a series in the future. So, it would be good advice to get in on the ground floor, and enjoy Five Mile Charlie: A Special Pony for Carly with the little ones in your family.  -Hollywood Book Reviews, Barbara Miller  

Kimberly Adams is a practicing attorney in McAlester, Oklahoma, and the Municipal Judge in her hometown of Kiowa, Oklahoma. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 1997 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in December 2000. Kimberly resides in rural southeast Oklahoma on her farm at Five Mile. The loss of her pet llama, Charlie, inspired a children’s book series, starting with this first installment. Other publications include works printed at West Publishing Company, through her appellate practice as an attorney.  

Online Book Review: Carly is a little girl who takes care of a farm in Oklahoma called the ‘Five Mile Farm’. She lives on the farm together with her pets and other animals. She also has made friends with bees who stay in a hive not far from the farm. Occasionally, she goes to tell her wishes to the bees who would in turn tell the queen bee.  Carly had always wished to have a pony, so she went and told the bees her wishes. Upon hearing Carly’s wish, the queen bee sends a bee called Journey. Journey then travels over long distances across the land to look for a pony that they would give Carly. He, however, doesn’t find a pony. He only finds a lonely llama called Charly. Will Charly be a perfect fit for Carly?   “Follow your dreams and wishes. They come true for those who work hard for them. Believe in what you can do and don’t forget to be kind along the way.”  The above excerpt from the first page of Five Mile Charlie by Kimberly Adams, I think, is the most valuable lesson that children will learn from this children’s book. Carly and Charly never lost hope that one day they would achieve their dreams. They continued holding to their wishes no matter how unrealistic they were. Another lesson I loved from the book is that we should be kind, and we should love and care for everyone no matter how cruel they may seem. There is a coyote called Grumps that every animal fears. However, he loves being alone because he thinks that everyone hates him. Carly seeks to show Grumps that she can be his friend.  What fascinates me the most was the touch of children’s fantasy present in the book. We encounter bunnies, birds, bees, and other animals who have been personified in the story. Children will love this because it is something that relates to their imaginations and fantasies.  There is not any negative thing to point out except that there is a cliffhanger in the book. We aren’t told whether Grumps made friends with Carly or whether he changed his attitude and perspective about everyone. This is not a big deal since it aids in creating suspense, and it may be a precedence for a future book—I do wish there is another book because I want to know what happened.  The book is written well and perfectly edited; I didn’t spot any errors. Even though there is an unresolved cliffhanger, the book has wonderful lessons, and I loved its fantasy. Because of this, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.  I would recommend this book to children of around five to nine years who may be interested in tales filled with fantasy.