Here is a growing selection of enthusiastic letters and recommendations received by AQUILA.
Author of TOXIC CHILDHOOD, Sue Palmer writes:
"(AQUILA)
seems great fun and you certainly have a delightful, loyal readership.
It's excellent material for bright children in the 8-13 age range - I
only wish more children could access this sort of reading matter,
rather than being drawn into lowest common denominator TV.
Congratulations
on keeping independent of marketing and denominational interests. I
don't know how you've managed it - 14 years is a triumph!"
"Thank you for your excellent magazine which has improved my general knowledge and held my interest each issue. I reluctantly won't be renewing my subscription this time as I am now nearly 19 and (hopefully) off to university in September. You have helped with my school work over the years so if I get a place you can have part of the credit. Thanks again and goodbye."
"AQUILA is a really good magazine. It's not like the boring educational ones but it's not like the girly ones..." From Anna, age 12
Parents and grandparents:
"Dear All, just to let you know, thanks to your mag Granny Sue is a hit! Great mag - more interesting than school!"
"All love it!"
"I would certainly recommend Aquila to any child, thank you for the fun and knowledge contained in your magazine"
" An excellent magazine, enjoyed by all the family"
" We've had many years of enjoyable reading"
"(thanks)
for a great magazine which is such a breath of fresh air when compared
to the array of dross available in the newsagents!!"
"We think your magazine is super!"
"(He) looks forward to the magazine and enjoys all it contains, thankyou on his behalf"
(We found AQUILA) "most interesting and stimulating...thank you for the wonderful hours of knowledge and fun..."
" Thank you for a most informative magazine...our son-in-law and daughter (both teachers) both find it most useful..."
"On
behalf of my daughter...may I take this opportunity to thank you for
yet another year's enjoyment and interest given to your readers...keep
up the good work"
"I should like to congratulate you on maintaining high standards and a good breadth of subject matter, issue after issue"
"It is so nice to have a magazine which is interesting, fun, original,
free from advertising and respectful of children - keep up the good
work"
"Thank you so much for an excellent (in every way) magazine"
"I just want to say thanks for Aquila - it's a quality children's
magazine (and there are so many bad value ones!). My daughter has
learned such a lot and still at age 10 looks forward to each new
magazine!"
"Thanks for 10+ years of a good subscription...may my grandchildren subscribe!"
"Thank you so much for producing a magazine which teaches my daughter something other than what to buy and what to watch on TV!"
"we
would like to thank you for the quality of the magazine and say how
much help it has been with school projects over the last few years"
"...if I hadn't renewed I don't think my Granddaughter would talk to me!"
"Wonderful content...Grandpa reads it before the children get it - and they love it"
"...both
children are voracious readers of catholic taste...she and her
scientifically minded 10 year old brother read AQUILA from cover to
cover. I believe you have given them a standard by which to judge
magazines"
"The magazine is so up to date, for example in
the astronomy topics. They have had the magazine for a year and have
not had a disappointment yet"
"...the
two copies...have been enthusiastically received and the next editions
are eagerly awaited. Many thanks for producing such an excellent
magazine"
"my son has enjoyed having AQUILA and tests our knowledge at every opportunity!"
"This
proved to be just the magazine I was looking for, for my two
grandchildren aged 10 and 8. Every issue has something of interest for
each of them and they manage to share it without falling out!"
"May I offer my congratulations on such a splendid magazine...indeed the whole family is delighted when AQUILA arrives!"
"It is a wonderful publication, very challenging in content and always filled with a wide range of interests..."
"AQUILA
is a superb magazine and we have all gained much from reading it. We
will continue to puzzle over back copies of brainfeeders for many
years!"
"She devours every word."
"As
a concerned grandmother I am grateful to you for providing an
interesting and stimulating publication for a bright child who is bored
at his primary school."
"Thank you for all your efforts that bring such joy to this age group."
"AQUILA
goes down such a treat with the whole family... the fourth child is now
entering the AQUILA zone and enjoying it as much as his siblings ahead
of him..."
"Hurry-up you've got to get ready for school!" "Can't come now I'm reading AQUILA and it's too interesting to stop."
"Just
a wee note to say how much our children are enjoying AQUILA - please
keep it up (and keep it different - we like it that way!). Thanks."
"Thank you again for a sensible publication and excellent service"
"(AQUILA has) been enthusiastically received and the next editions are eagerly awaited."
"Thank you for this great bit of England that comes to us in the U.S.A!"
"He
is constantly referring to the growing collection (of magazines) that
he has, which is a compliment...(in) a home full of books he is not
exactly short of a good read!"
"My god daughter begged me to continue (with her subscription)."
"Many thanks for a tremendous and interesting monthly read."
"I
find it very interesting, never mind my granddaughter for whom it's
intended. I'm glad to see that old jokes never die, they just get
recycled!"
"She really looks forward to her copy of
AQUILA dropping through the letterbox, it is the only magazine she
consistently enjoys and reads through from cover to cover. She is
always coming out with facts and figures that she has picked up from
AQUILA and I am very grateful to you for this, for not patronising
children and always giving her something to think about. I bless the
day we discovered your magazine - keep up the good work!"
"My god-daughter begged me to continue subscribing."
"Thank you AQUILA. It has given him so much more pleasure over the years than I ever imagined it would."
"As a parent I am so impressed with the type and amount of content."
"...The
puzzles, the article about Beagle 2, helpful articles which are
different from other magazines and can be used to answer school work
projects...this letter is for your encouragement..."
" We've been looking for a magazine like this forever, having girls of 10 and 11 years. Thanks."
Children's views on AQUILA:
"Whenever I read your mag, a broad grin spreads across my face."
"I would just like to say that I really love OVER TO YOU, and think that its really great that children can use it to debate, because where else can we do it?"
" I think AQUILA is great!"
"I really love your magazine"
"I
have just finished reading and doing all the competitions in my first
copy of AQUILA and I love it! Even my mum enjoyed sitting down and
completing the crossword with me! I think it is good because it teaches
you a lot of good facts but there are also fun pages. I just wish I
knew about AQUILA before and I can't wait till the next issue comes
out. Happy 10th Birthday AQUILA!"
"It's brilliant."
"I have just moved and would like to tell you. Thanks for the wicked mags."
"
I just want to say how great the magazine is. I can't wait for it to
come every month, it is way better than any magazine you can get in the
shops."
"I really love reading your magazine - it is different from all the others and is fun for everyone."
"Your
magazine is brilliant, please don't change it and whatever you do,
DON'T put in pop stars or anything like that. Most 'pop' magazines are
really tacky and not worth what they cost. However AQUILA is very
classy and you definitely get your money's worth out of it!"
"Your magazine is the best ever - it entertains me for hours, the competitions are fab. Keep up the good work."
"
I disagree with all the people who think AQUILA should have interviews
with pop and movie stars. Lots of other magazines have those, and the
thing I love best about AQUILA is that it doesn't!"
"I am 13 and will still probably be subscribing when I am 20!"
"I love your magazine. My favourite parts are IAN and Jokes. I also like Our World because I like finding out about people."
"AQUILA is really great. I don't know why everyone doesn't get it because it is so interesting."
Teachers: "Dear
AQUILA, we are a year 3 class and we love reading your magazine. We
particularly like your jokes and competitions. We have sent some jokes
in in the hope they will be published. My class rush in and always want
to know if we have the new issue of your magazine. They all really
enjoy your articles and find out lots of new information. Thank you
very much."
"A wonderfully organised, accessible and attractive magazine for our pupils."
"It is a refreshing change from most magazines aimed at this age group."
"
The range of material from factual information and quizzes, to
serialised stories caters for all interests and provides stimulus for
even the most able pupils."
"There is always a rush to get to AQUILA first!"
" An appealing magazine that delivers a book's worth of reading"
"The
most popular resource in our year 5 and 6 for individual reading. I
wish we could afford at least half a dozen copies per class!"
"Ideal material for our boys who are not 'commited readers'. They enjoy the varied content."
"It is beautifully produced and wide ranging"
"...I think it is brilliant. It gave me lots of useful ideas to use at school."
The experts have their say:
"... the best enrichment material available for the able child"
Professor Joan Freeman (Founding President of the European Council for High Ability, Vice President of the College of Teachers)
"...what
does AQUILA mean to me? It means imagination, creativity, interest,
information, knowledge and enjoyable challenges... A combination of fun
and challenge that is somehow unique in publications for children...
Parents with able children have been so grateful to find an appropriate
magazine to extend them."
Ken Bore, National Association of Gifted Children
