Aquila by Andrew Norriss won the Whitbread children’s Book Award. Books win big prizes like this for a reason and Aquila stands on its own as a book to inspire and encourage children to think about what they want to do in life and what is important, whilst at the same time being a cracking good fun adventure story. Another thing about Award winners is that they can be enjoyed by any age group. Aquila was written for children but parents, grandparents and adults in general all enjoy it too. It gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, you never quite know where it will go next whilst at the same time feeling in very safe hands .Aquila is gripping from the first page, when two boys slip down a bank into a disused quarry while on a school orienteering trip. There they discover a Roman spacecraft, which they manage to get going. They learn more whilst finding out how to control the spaceship than they have ever learnt at school – including Latin! As well as wiiing the 1997 Whitbread Children’s Novel Award it was also short-listed for the Smarties Award and was made into a popular television series. You only have to visit the Aquila appreciation Society on Face Book and see the youtube video hits to appreciate how popular it was and still is.
