Michael (with his mum Ashleigh McAlister) learns that ‘A is for Acorns at the Arboretum’ from the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre’s Cakeberra! picture book. Photo: Supplied.
Imagine you’re on a bus, driving around discovering Canberra icons made of cake – and learning your ABCs along the way.
This is the premise of the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre’s new book, Cakeberra!
All pictures in the book are from the charity’s 2017 Cake Off competition, in which the theme was ‘Canberra’. They were professionally captured, but unutilised until now.
“Our bakers baked the most stunning cakes of different icons around Canberra, they were gorgeous,” charity CEO Dr Yvonne Luxford said.
A staff member came up with the idea to share the images with everyone in picture-book form, and professional children’s author Shelly Unwin also helped craft the photos into a story for parents and carers to share with their kids.
“We’ve set it up as a family going on a bus trip around Canberra, looking at all these different things,” Dr Luxford said.
“It’s a great celebration of Canberra, and also the wonderful bakers who helped us with Cake Off.”
‘A is for Acorns at the National Arboretum’ was simple enough, but the team had to get creative when it came to some spots on the alphabetical journey.
“Believe it or not, X wasn’t as hard as you’d think, and Z is for zoo was easy because we had a giraffe cake,” Dr Luxford said.
“U was one of the real tricky ones – we ended up with ‘We dove in and swam under the water at Manuka Pool’ and have a gorgeous cake to match.”
The book is available in softcover and hardcover editions ($20 and $27 respectively) at the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre’s base in Weston Creek and the National Library.
Canberrans could see it popping up in more places across the Territory soon, as the charity is in conversations with some independent booksellers as well.
It’s hoped the book sparks curiosity, connection and pride in place, and appeals to anyone with a love for the Capital.
Every copy sold will directly support the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre’s services for parents and families experiencing perinatal mental health challenges.
It could also prompt people to think about their own wellbeing as they navigate parenthood.
“Behind every page is a purpose,” Dr Luxford said.
“It might spark somebody to reach out at that difficult time, or be a gift to a new parent to start that conversation about their wellbeing.”
Find out how to purchase Cakeberra! online here. The Perinatal Wellbeing Centre offers free counselling services to parents and carers with children under the age of two. A referral or diagnosis is not needed. Call 02 6288 1936 to speak with a member of the team, or fill out the centre’s online form.
