A richly illustrated picture book by Nukgal Wurra author-artist Wanda Gibson about her joyful childhood beach holidays in Far North Queensland.'Take three dresses ... one to wash, one to wear and one spare.'When Wanda Gibson was a little girl, her mum would tell her this as they packed to go on holidays. Wanda grew up on Hope Vale Mission in Far North Queensland, and her family were allowed only one short break away from work each year. They would walk for two days to get to their special spot at the beach. Here, they camped in the sandhills, cooked fresh fish on the fire and swam in the ocean.Beautifully illustrated with Wanda's paintings, this heart-warming true story celebrates family time, connection to place and finding joy in the simple things, like your favourite three dresses. About the Author When Wanda Gibson was a girl, living in Far North Queensland in the 50s, she would get three second-hand dresses for Christmas every year. They were from the Lutheran Church, who ran the mission where Gibson, a Nukgal Wurra author and artist, grew up. Her favourite was blue and studded with little yellow flowers. Gibson's picture book inspired by those precious garments, Three Dresses, has won the $100,000 top prize at this year's Victorian Premier's Literary Awards (VPLAs), as well as the $25,000 award for children's literature. The judges described Three Dresses as a "real-life history, a truth-telling, woven with words". With Gibson's win, she becomes the first children's book author to win the Victorian Prize for Literature. ISBN: 9780702266355
