CHILDREN and staff from schools throughout west Wiltshire celebrated World Book Day on Thursday by donning a variety of costumes based on characters from their favourite literature.

At Grove Primary School in Trowbridge, 374 pupils came to class in home-made costumes based on the ever-popular children’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Written by Eric Carle, the book was first published by the World Publishing Company in 1969, the same year that the school opened.

Headteacher Anna Pemberton said: “We have celebrated World book Day and tied it not only to our passion for books and reading but also to our 50th anniversary celebrations.

“I can’t thank the parents enough for the creativity and imagination they have shown in creating all the wonderful costumes.”

Staff and pupils spent the day doing a variety of activities, including quizzes, songs, and listening to the Grove Voices choir, who sang their version of the Black Eyed Peas hit I Gotta Feeling, renamed I Gotta Read.

The children were also given £1 world book tokens to put towards books from the Travelling Books fair, organised by Year 6 pupils to raise £825.31 to buy books for the school library.

Mrs Pemberton added: “I can’t thank the parents enough for the creativity and imagination they have shown in creating all the wonderful costumes.”

Pupils at St Joseph's Nursery in Devizes, Westbury Junior School, Westbury Leigh Primary School, and Neston Primary School also donned fancy dress costumes based on characters from their favourite stories.

Anna Thurman, of Westbury Leigh Primary, said: “The classrooms looked incredible, decorated with texts on display and virtual fireplaces for children to read, explore and share.

“Mr Pearce led the whole school assembly with staff and children dressed in pyjamas, where they discussed the books they love the most.”

“Mr Pearce shared The Book with No Pictures by B J Novak, which the children loved.”

One young pupil called Jess said: “The book was great, we all loved it because it was funny and it made us laugh. It had no pictures but it built pictures in your mind.”

At Westbury Infants school, Skyler Hewitt dressed up as Hermione from the Harry Potter novels by J K Rowling.

But the youngster was forced to go home because she felt unwell, so mum Chloe Hewitt sent in a photo.

Melksham Oak Community School students were inspired by teachers, who also dressed up for the occasion in the theme of famous and classic books.

Activities included finding the titles of favourite books from their teachers, learning lessons from stories, including The Ghost of Jacob Marley, Gandalf and The Very Hungry Caterpillar among many others.

Students’ imaginations were inspired by literary characters and texts throughout the day.

Science lessons included themes of from the World of Alice in Wonderland and the Life of Pi.

Students were also able to browse the World Book Day books on a visit to the fantastic library where The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me were available to make reading recommendations and check out books.

Principal Alan Henderson said: “We celebrate reading and aim to inspire students to see books as pleasure.

"This World Book Day was yet another opportunity for students to learn more about the wonderful literacy and stories available to them.”

World Book Day is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.