Caz Goodwin (text), Sara Acton (illustrator), A Wish for Baby, Affirm Press, July 2024, 32 pp., $22.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922 930293
Gently beckoned by the calming blues and understated text on the cover of A Wish for Baby, Caz Goodwin and Sara Acton are no strangers to stirring the emotions as regular award-winners in their respective fields.
Capturing all the emotions and experiences for parents, this is sure to become a classic on the home bookshelf.
Big hopes and dreams, fears and expectations are all portrayed in gentle rhyming verses and clever use of symbolism (stars, rainbows and sun). Combined with soft pastel illustrations, it lulls readers into a future promised of new adventures. Every day pleasures are celebrated from running in the rain, to dress ups, and of course, reading:
I wish you many magic hours lost inside a book.
There’s so much to discover if you’re just prepared to look.
Celebrating the irrevocable bond between parent and child, A Wish for Baby is clearly crafted with love and a wonderful ode from parent to child:
I wish for you, dear little one,
That in your heart you’ll know,
I love you and I always will, wherever you may go.
Reviewed by Shelley Stephens