Children’s author Preston Rutt scooped Hampshire County Council’s prestigious Illustrated Book Award.
Preston won the award with illustrator Ben Redlich for Tortoise vs Hare: The Rematch, a humorous reworking of the much loved Aesop Fable.
He received the award on March 10 at Kings Furlong Junior School in Basingstoke.
The annual award is presented for an outstanding picture book for older readers and is judged by 5,000 children aged nine and 10 from 104 primary schools.
Hampshire’s executive member for culture and recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said: “This award is a fantastic way of getting over 5,000 children reading and talking about a different genre of book that everyone can relate to.”
Rucstall Primary School headteacher Monica Barker said the event had got pupils reading, adding: “It rekindled an interest in picture books for older children. The children and I really enjoyed the books and the experience.”
