Carol Goess

award winning children's author

Carol writes stories that make kids laugh, join in, and beg for one more read. Her debut book, Can We Lick the Spoon Now?, won the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award for Young Children and was a Notable CBCA Book. She is a versatile writer, crafting stories for both picture book and the junior/middle grade fiction level.

Carol has also dabbled in screenplays and, on one occasion, secured a Hollywood agent for a children’s animation – proof she’s never short of stories to tell.

Portrait photo of Carol Goess Author.

About Carol

children's author & storyteller

Carol lives in a quiet coastal town in Victoria, Australia. Although it's NOT quiet when the kookaburras and cockatoos throw a party! When she’s not chasing cockatoos out of her veggie patch, Carol is usually writing or imagining what life might be like as a movie director.

Her favourite things are rocking horses, cuckoo clocks, chocolate ice-cream, and dusty bookshops in old country towns. She likes watching rocket launches, and one day she hopes to see a REAL rocket BLAST OFF into space.

Cover of Can We Lick the Spoon Now? by Carol Goess and Tamsin Ainslie — a girl in a red polka dot dress holds a mixing bowl while a boy licks a wooden spoon and a black dog watches, with the 2011 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year award sticker

Can We Lick the Spoon Now?

A story about making a chocolate cake and all the things that can go wrong in the process. It has been described as "A fantastic read out loud book full of onomatopoeia and FUN!"

Illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie and published by Working Title Press in 2010 (now under HarperCollins Australia – 3rd edition).

Awards and Recognition

  • Winner of the 2011 Speech Pathology Australia's Book of the Year Awards — Young Children for Can We Lick the Spoon Now?
  • 2011 Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book — Early Childhood for Can We Lick the Spoon Now?
  • Shortlisted for the 2011 SA Writers' Festival inaugural Children's Choice Award.
  • Premier's Reading Challenge List Selection — SA, NSW, VIC.
Can We Lick the Spoon Now? as featured on ABC TV Play School

2012 ABC TV aired on Play School. 27th September.

Author Visits

Carol loves visiting kindergartens, schools, and libraries. Her storytelling sessions are a combination of hands-on activities, interactive roleplays with props and plenty of noisy fun, especially when she encourages children to mime the verbs, guess the next action, join in the chorus question, and emphasise the 'oh no's!'

Carol has presented workshops for different age groups which include discussions on her journey as a writer, picture book production, the collaboration between author and illustrator, and tips on how to stimulate creative minds. Her screenplay workshops for secondary school students were a great success internationally and inspired several emerging writers to explore a different writing genre. If you would like to arrange a visit, please contact her via

Member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Member of The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA).

Illustration from Can We Lick the Spoon Now? — a smiling toddler in a yellow shirt sitting behind a red colander and holding up a wooden spoon

Fun Resources

Get in Touch

If you are interested in Carol’s upcoming books or would like to arrange an author visit, please get in touch.

Email Carol