Saviour Pirotta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saviour Pirotta
Pirotta at the Austrian National Library in Vienna in 2018
Born	1958 (age 66–67) Malta
Occupation	Author
Nationality	British
Genre	Children's picture books, Greek myth, fiction, historical fiction, detective stories, non-fiction
Years active	1986–present
Notable works	The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, Firebird, The Wolfsong Series

Saviour Pirotta is a British author who was born in Malta. He now lives in England. He is famous for writing many popular children's books.

Pirotta is best known for his exciting retellings of Greek myths in The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths. He also wrote a popular picture book based on a Russian folktale called Firebird. Many young readers also love his Ancient Greek Mysteries series. His books are read by children all over the world, especially in the UK, Greece, Italy, and South Korea.

A Lifelong Love of Stories

Saviour Pirotta was born in Malta and grew up with four brothers. He learned to speak both English and Maltese. From a young age, he loved reading. He discovered amazing worlds in books like the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson.

His parents were very religious and limited the TV shows he could watch. However, Pirotta was still inspired by the visual magic of movies. He especially liked the work of film animator Ray Harryhausen, who created amazing fantasy creatures.

Starting a Writing Career

In 1981, Pirotta moved to the United Kingdom. His first job was directing plays for a community arts group in London. This led to a job as a storyteller at the Commonwealth Institute, where he worked until 1989.

After one of his plays was published, Pirotta decided to focus on writing books for children. He started with picture books and then wrote non-fiction books about topics like pirates and religious festivals. His 1995 book Pirates and Treasure was one of the first children's books to show that pirates came from many different cultures around the world.

For a while, he also wrote science books for young children under the name Sam Godwin. One of these books, A Seed in Need, won an award in 1998 for being the best non-fiction picture book.

Popular Books and Awards

Pirotta's book Turtle Bay was named a "Notable Science Trade Book" in 1998. It was praised for how it combined a good story with science facts.

In 2010, his picture book Firebird won two awards in the United States. It received an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society and a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

Adventure in Ancient Worlds

Many of Pirotta's most popular books take readers back in time to exciting historical periods.

The Ancient Greek Mysteries

In 2016, Pirotta began writing a series of adventure stories set in Ancient Greece for Bloomsbury Publishing. The series is called Ancient Greek Mysteries. The first book, Mark of the Cyclops, came out in 2017. It was followed by Secret of the Oracle, Pirates of Poseidon, and Shadow of the Centaurs. These books mix history with thrilling mysteries.

The Wolfsong Series

In 2018, Pirotta started another four-book series called Wolfsong. These stories are set in the Neolithic period, also known as the late Stone Age. The first book, The Stolen Spear, was published in 2019.

The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad

In 2019, Pirotta published another historical adventure called The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad. This story is set during the golden age of Islam, a time of great learning and discovery in the Middle East.

From Books to the Stage

In 2019, Pirotta's first professional children's play, Granny's Exploding Toilet, was performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. It was so popular that every show was sold out.

He was asked to write another play, a new version of Little Red Riding Hood. He also adapted his Greek myths series into a family musical called Miti, Miti, which was performed in Malta in 2024.

Awards and Honours

Saviour Pirotta has won many awards for his books.

• Mark of the Cyclops won the North Somerset Teachers' Book Award in 2018.
• The Unicorn Prince was chosen as one of The Guardian's Books of the Month in October 2018.
• The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad was shortlisted for a quality fiction award in 2019.
• Pandora's Box won the Fiction Express Readers Award in 2020.
• Firebird won an Aesop Accolade and an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award in 2010.

Selected Works

Saviour Pirotta has written over 100 books. Here are some of his most popular ones.

Fiction Series

• The Nile Adventures (Set in Ancient Egypt)
  • The Heart Scarab (2022)
  • The Crocodile Curse (2022)
  • The Jackal's Graveyard (2023)
• The Wolfsong Series (Set in the Stone Age)
  • The Stolen Spear (2019)
  • The Whispering Stones (2020)
  • The Mysterious Island (2021)
  • The Wolf's Song (2022)
• Ancient Greek Mysteries
  • Mark of the Cyclops (2017)
  • Secret of the Oracle (2017)
  • Pirates of Poseidon (2018)
  • Shadow of the Centaurs (2018)

Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales

• The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths (2003)
• Aesop's Fables (2005)
• Around the World in 80 Tales (2007)
• The Orchard Book of Grimm's Fairytales (2011)
• Greek Myths (2015)

Picture Books

• Turtle Bay (1998)
• Firebird (2010)
• George and the Dragon (2015)
• The Unicorn Prince (2018)