Dim's Write Stuff

Unless you are familiar with Melbourne's skyline and Australia's recent past, you may not be acquainted with The Skipping Girl, aka Audrey. Audrey Skips is a beguiling picture book that changes all that. Based on Australia's first sequenced animated neon sign Audrey Skips escorts readers through a fascinating tribute to a treasured landmark, thanks to the animated rhyming text of Andrea Rowe and the exquisite illustrations of Lisa Coutts. Audrey first sprang into life atop the Malt Vinegar factory in Abbotsford in 1936. Her role was simple, to promote Skipping Girl vinegar. This she did with clockwork appeal and tireless vigor. Bedecked in her vibrant red dress, Audrey skipped and flipped, twirled and glowed rivalling the pinks and oranges of Melbourne's sunsets with her neon bloom. Spirited verse sets this scene vividly as Audrey becomes a silent yet reliable fixature of the city's skyline. Over the years, Audrey becomes the backdrop to city life, an impartial ...