By Casey Neill
The timing of Caz Goodwin’s tenth book was beautifully serendipitous.
The award-winning Hawthorn author had just penned A Wish for Baby when her son, Tom, revealed Caz was about to become a grandmother.
“It’s like a love letter to a baby,” she said.
“I didn’t write this with a particular baby in mind.
“I channelled my memories of my own children and how when they were born, I’d just stare down and look at them and imagine ‘what are the adventures you’re going to have?’ and ‘I hope you have wonderful friends that support you’ and ‘I hope you enjoy nature’ and ‘I hope you are healthy’ and ‘I hope you’re happy’ – all those natural feelings that come when you’re a new parent.
“All those feelings are coming up again as a grandmother.”
The illustrations by Sara Acton show a child and their father having fun with dress-ups, baking, reading, and giggling with friends.
Tom was thrilled with the book’s timing.
“I remember when I first showed him the manuscript,” Caz said.
“He might have wiped away a tear.
“As a parent there’s nothing quite like your first baby.
“The joy that this little baby has brought has been wonderful.”
Tom confirmed he was very emotional when he first read the book. Little Isla was four weeks old when we met. He felt like Caz was writing to her before even knowing she existed.
“It was very special,” he said.
He was eagerly awaiting a copy, fresh from the printer, so he could read it to Isla.
“We read to her every night,” he said.
“It will be really special when she knows it’s written by Caz Ma.”
Caz started her writing career when her husband’s job took the family to Singapore.
“I was told I wouldn’t be able to work there. I thought I’d do what I’d always wanted to – writing books,” she said.
“I set a goal of writing one within the first year.
“I’d always written and I loved rhyming books in particular.
“I was brought up on AA Milne and Dr Seuss.
“When I was a bit older I loved Jane Eyre’s rhyming poems.
“I would write rhyming invitations to family but never really thought about going about it more seriously and having it published.”
She joined a writer’s group, put pen to paper, and her first book was published soon after.
“That was a book called Dragon’s Egg, which is still in print in Singapore,” Caz said.
“It was a children’s picture book about a child who finds an egg and a dragon hatches out.
“It won a competition so that was a good way to get into the industry.
“When I came back to Melbourne I kept writing and haven’t stopped.”
Caz’s books generally start with a character, and then she asks questions about them.
“I’m not a plotter; I just start writing and the story seems to evolve organically,” she said.
“I don’t set out with a particular theme in mind or a particular moral I want to tell.
“What if it was a little girl and she was best friend’s with the old man next door, and what if their favourite goat died?
“And what if he was depressed and didn’t want to come out of the house and she had to help him out?
“That’s how my last book developed.
“I do a lot of re-writing, which most writers do.
“I keep exploring until I find a way to make a story work and the characters work.
“The narrative arc has to be appropriate and the conclusion has to have some hope.”
Caz is also a literacy advocate. She runs the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in Victoria and is on the Young Australian Best Book Awards (YABBA) council.
“I really encourage all parents and grandparents to start reading from the moment they’re born,” she said.
“The research shows that reading to babies is really important and that you can’t start too early.
“There’s nothing you can do to really give your child the best educational outcome before they start formal school other than reading.
“It’s just vitamins for the brain.
“It’s so good for them in so many ways.
“It also helps you feel closer to them when you’re reading to a baby.
“There was some research done that showed reading to babies in utero, their heart rate slowed reading one story versus another story.
“I thought that was some really amazing research.”
Caz recommended rhyming books in particular.
“The children relate to them and do really engage,” she said.
“As they get older they can anticipate the words because they rhyme with the line before.
“There’s something about the rhythm that is calming and almost meditative.”
A Wish for Baby fits the bill.
“This is the sort of book that I think would be a lovely gift to give to a newborn or the parents of a newborn,” Caz said.
“It really contains those universal feelings of joy but also wonder and hope and the dreams for a new little one.”
