‘For tired parents everywhere – your tiny master criminals are lucky to have you’.
Davina Bell’s dedication sums up the entire premise of Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World better than any blurb could.
When the detective arrives at Mum and Dad’s house, it's very late at night, which is okay because everyone’s awake anyway.
Mum and Dad quickly hide Baby as the detective lists all the characteristics of this master criminal:
• Makes you read the same book over and over until your voice gives out? Tick!
• Insists you buy berries and make healthy pancakes – only to do everything with the food except eat it? Tick!
• Requires you to speak in silly voices and dance silly dances for its amusement? Tick!
Davina Bell’s oh-so-true words combine beautifully with Sarah Zweck’s bold, bright and increasingly chaotic illustrations, giving the reader much to look at, consider and relate to. Together, they have created a book that wraps every single baby experience up into 32 pages.
While Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World is not a Parenting 101 manual, it certainly does double duty as both a hilarious picture book for young readers (particularly those with a baby in the house) and a ‘we see you’ affirmation for exhausted parents.
It’s not often I laugh out loud (literally) when I’m reading but this book, with its instant relatability, had me doing so right from the opening page. It’s all there – the parenting experience – and it’s funny because it’s true.
Highly recommended for tired parents and ambivalent older siblings who – despite their frustration – would never want things any other way.
Title: Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World
Author: Davina Bell
Illustrator: Sarah Zweck
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Australia, $24.99
Publication Date: 3 February 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760765323
For ages: up to 3
Type: Picture Book
Davina Bell’s dedication sums up the entire premise of Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World better than any blurb could.
When the detective arrives at Mum and Dad’s house, it's very late at night, which is okay because everyone’s awake anyway.
But then she reveals that she's looking for ‘the most devious supervillain in the world’ – and it’s not the Boogeyman or the Boogeylady.
Mum and Dad quickly hide Baby as the detective lists all the characteristics of this master criminal:
• Makes you read the same book over and over until your voice gives out? Tick!
• Insists you buy berries and make healthy pancakes – only to do everything with the food except eat it? Tick!
• Requires you to speak in silly voices and dance silly dances for its amusement? Tick!
Tick. Tick. Tick. Could it be Baby that the detective is hunting for?
Davina Bell’s oh-so-true words combine beautifully with Sarah Zweck’s bold, bright and increasingly chaotic illustrations, giving the reader much to look at, consider and relate to. Together, they have created a book that wraps every single baby experience up into 32 pages.
While Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World is not a Parenting 101 manual, it certainly does double duty as both a hilarious picture book for young readers (particularly those with a baby in the house) and a ‘we see you’ affirmation for exhausted parents.
It’s not often I laugh out loud (literally) when I’m reading but this book, with its instant relatability, had me doing so right from the opening page. It’s all there – the parenting experience – and it’s funny because it’s true.
Highly recommended for tired parents and ambivalent older siblings who – despite their frustration – would never want things any other way.
Title: Wanted: The Cutest Baby in the World
Author: Davina Bell
Illustrator: Sarah Zweck
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Australia, $24.99
Publication Date: 3 February 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760765323
For ages: up to 3
Type: Picture Book