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Award-winning children’s author, Cindy L. Shirley grew up in a small town in Cherokee County Georgia. She is a wife, mother of two, and grandmother of one amazing granddaughter. She loves working with children and has tons of hilarious stories to share. Cindy says, “So many heartfelt conversations, and silly experiences took place during my time working as an Cobb County elementary school ASP teacher. Kids just want to feel acknowledged and share their day with someone.” It was during this time that she decided to pursue a business in entertaining children. Mrs. Shirley founded Let’s Pretend Parties in 2006 and Let’s Pretend Publishing in 2017. She continues to work with children of all ages as a party planner and hostess. Ms. Shirley is also involved with annual community and family events throughout Cobb and Cherokee Counties. This adventure, along with personal experiences, would be the basis for her heartwarming children's books: "Diesel the Body Guard; No Bullies Allowed! Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float, and her new series, The Fabulous life of Minnie the Sassy Chick." These stories are based on real characters from her family, as well as her childhood experiences. Her creative and fun filled story lines were written to bring a smile to children’s faces. She says, “I will consider this new adventure as an author to be a huge success if I can make children laugh.”
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float is a holiday-themed children’s picture book written by Cindy L. Shirley and illustrated by Cleoward Sy. Doodle was a little girl who lived with her grandparents, Mimi and Paw-Paw, on their farm in the town of Tinsel. There were lots of fun things for Doodle and her friends to do on the farm, and they spent many happy afternoons after school playing there. One afternoon, they went exploring in the woods nearby and found an abandoned trailer. Its paint was faded, and several of its tires were flat, but Doodle’s imagination was captured by the sign still attached to it that indicated that the trailer had a name, and it was “Magic.” The excited children ran back to the farm and asked Paw-Paw if he could help fix that little trailer, and he jumped right on his trusty tractor and drove over to see it. Paw-Paw’s an inventive sort, so he was able to quickly hook it up to the tractor and bring it home, and between him and Doodle, they figured out a perfect plan for Magic, the trailer.
Cindy Shirley’s holiday-themed children’s picture book, Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float, is a charming and beautifully illustrated book that pays tribute to the imagination and ingenuity that is present in every little boy and girl -- as well as some very fortunate adults, like Paw-Paw. I Ioved following as he and his granddaughter see the possibilities hidden in that old, broken-down trailer and transform it into something special and, yes, magical. And throughout the story, that theme of recycle and reuse appears in a number of clever and fun ways. Cleoward Sy’s illustrations are marvelous! The predominant reds, whites and greens he uses in each panel enhance the Christmassy feel of the tale, and the facial expressions of the characters work very well indeed. This is a grand selection for story time that is guaranteed to get children even more into the Christmas spirit than they may already be. It’s also a challenging and worthwhile option for more experienced young readers to try on their own. Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float is most highly recommended.
