Fictional characters walked off the pages and into classrooms across Wiltshire as schools marked World Book Day.

Pupils at Bishops Cannings Primary School got creative with author Jo Empson, of Devizes.

She worked with Key Stage 1, reading her books Rabbityness and Never Ever, in workshops.

The school is also taking part in the national Read For My School challenge, run by BookTrust and the Pearson Foundation.

The challenge is for each pupil to read eight books and, as a whole, the school to read more than 250 books over an eight-week period.

Author Wendy Meddour visited Minety School, to launch of the latest book in her Wendy Quill range.

Daughter Meena, 12, who illustrates the books, also took part and showed pupils her techniques.

Harry Potter, Spiderman, Snow White and Mr Strong were in the audience as children dressed up.

At Devizes School, historian Richard Broadhead worked with Year 9 on writing up history using sources from the time.

Marcus Alexander, an author of fantasy adventures, worked with Year 7 and 8 pupils, encouraging them to use their own experiences.

Students and staff also dressed as book characters, had a silent read and got a share of a giant cake to celebrate the school’s new book of the year, The Fault in Our Stars.

Heddington Primary pupils enjoyed seeing headteacher Ashley Martin dress up as Snow White.

Mr Martin persuaded seven colleagues to be his seven dwarves, as they were visited by Marlborough author Debi Evans, writer of The Secret Society of Dragon Protec-tors series, and Devizes Books.

At Fynamore School in Calne, characters included James Bond and Roald Dahl characters. There were book-based activities and a visit from author Martin Coleman.

Corsham Primary School got into the spirit, with staff joining pupils with fancy dress, while Langley Fitzurse School, in Kington Langley, held a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party event, parents shared their favourite stories and teachers their favourite poems and a second-hand book sale raised £52 to buy new poetry books.

Chippenham’s Abbeyfield School turned into the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Year 8 pupil Caleb Jones winning best costume prize as Dobbie, while the town’s Sainsbury’s turned part of its store into a reading corner, with employee Michelle Perry reading There’s a Shark in my Bath to Frogwell School pupils.