The Best Birthday Cake in the World

Ruby wants the best birthday cake in the whole wide world. It needs to have pink and white frosting, a crown made of lollies and a wand that sparkles. Ruby hopes that her mum, known for burning toast and charcoaling sausages, is up for the challenge!

Interview with th author at the book launch 2014

YOUR child's birthday is approaching and they want a birthday cake. But not just any cake, they want the elaborate design they saw in a magazine, which probably took a team of professional chefs hours to create.

They want the best birthday cake in the world, and you have no idea how you're going to make it.

Bundaberg mum-of-three Jedidah Morley drew on her own inspiration when she wrote the children's picture book The Best Birthday Cake In The World, to be launched in Bundaberg tomorrow.

"It's about a little girl called Ruby who wants this cake and even though she knows her mum isn't usually a great cook, she still thinks she can pull it off," she said.

"The idea came from my own life and I see the cake my kids want and wonder how I'll be able to make it."

Mrs Morley said she'd never written a book before The Best Birthday Cake In The World, but about two years ago she decided to give it a go.

"I was on maternity leave and I have a belief that you should try and do something amazing and make the most of each day," she said.

"So I wrote the book and the next step was to try and have it published so I sent it to a few publishers and it all went from there.

"The actual writing didn't take too long but it's taken a while to get to this stage."

Working as a school teacher, Mrs Morley has seen more than her fair share of picture books and said she was pleased with the response it was already generating.

"I think the best part of the process has been reading the book to the kids at school and my own kids and getting their positive feedback and seeing their reaction to the book," she said.

"I think you need to have read a whole lot of picture books to know what makes a good one."

Mrs Morley has already written a second book due to be released in December.

"It's about a little girl who is just a bit different to everyone else and her teacher always tries to make her do things the same as everyone else," she said.

"But one day she has a relief teacher called Mrs Chuckles who encourages her creativity."

Despite the success, Mrs Morley has no plans to make writing a full time career.

"I love my job. I'm a music teacher and I couldn't think of anything better," she said.

"But I'll pursue it as a hobby."