A Wish for Baby by Caz Goodwin and Sara Acton

Title: A Wish for Baby

Author: Caz Goodwin and Sara Acton

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Affirm Press

Published: 30^th July 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $22.99

Synopsis: I wish you health and happiness,
but even when there’s pain …

I hope you see the rainbows

as you’re running through the rain.


This gentle picture book is a celebration of a new baby’s arrival, expressing all the hopes, joys, and dreams for a little one’s future.

The perfect gift to welcome a new baby to the world.

~*~

Caz Goodwin has teamed up with Central Coast illustrator Sara Acton to create a beautiful new picture book for new parents called A Wish for Baby.  A Wish for Baby celebrates babies, parents and families in lyrical prose accompanied by Sara’s beautiful illustrations of a father and child exploring the world and getting to know each other. The gentle story is full of love, and it seems to float off every page.

Stars are at the heart of Caz and Sara’s book from the end pages, and all the way throughout the story, playing on the idea of wishing on a star. From the very first time a parent sees their child and wishes for a healthy life, to wishing for good friends and fun throughout life. It captures the beauty of what it is like being a parent, exploring the world as they experience things like eating, bathing, playing, and watching stars for the first time, and as the parents discover these things for the first time through the eyes of their child. The wonder of the world is magical, and the combination of the story and illustrations is perfect, creating a lyrical expression of love within the pages that evokes pleasant emotions of familial love.

The wishes the parents have for the baby are full of hope, and touch on wanting things to be good when things are bad, for the baby and those around them to help them get through life and show them that things can work out nicely. Caz has balanced rhymes and prose throughout to tell the story. I loved the theme of wishes occurring throughout the book, as it evoked a joyous sense of being, a sense of something that is universal – family, and wanting the best world and experiences for your child. It joyfully speaks about hopes, wishes and dreams for the future – of what could be and the beauty of discovery in life.

Everything in this book is beautiful and fun, joyous and emotive as it celebrates the wonders of life and wishes we have for the children in our lives, and the ways we all have wishes for them, for ourselves and for the people around us and in our lives. This gorgeous book from two fantastic Australian children’s literature creators is perfect for new parents or a new baby, and is one that can be shared and loved for many years after the new arrival.