Josephine's 'Magination

Josephine's 'Magination by Arnold Dobrin (Scholastic, 1973).

This is sweet story about a little girl in Haiti who goes to market with her mother to sell brooms. Although she plays with flower dolls made from hibiscus, she's always wanted a real doll. When she's at market, she meets a man selling little straw animals. She asks who taught him how to make them, and he says no one taught him, he used his "'magination." Josephine wonders if she has 'magination that she could use to make something. She and her mother leave the market only having sold a couple brooms. That night, the idea comes to Josephine to make dolls out of the brooms. Her mother praises her for her smart idea, and together they make many dolls which sell quickly at market. 

I loved the soft and textured illustrations. I tried to find out more information about Dobrin, but despite having published a good number of books in the 60's and 70's, I couldn't find much more about him, besides on this page of Nebraska authors.  It appears he's still living, so I wonder why he stopped creating children's books so long ago.