Authors and illustrators have been inspiring hundreds of young readers as The Biggest Book Show on Earth stopped off at Norwich's St Andrew's Hall.
Entertainer Julian Clary was among the writers taking part in today's event which is part of a national tour celebrating World Book Day that takes place this Thursday.
Mr Clary, whose second children's book The Bolds to the Rescue is out this week, took to the stage with the book's illustrator David Roberts. Meanwhile other literary figures to delight the 1,200 schoolchildren included Geek Girl author Holly Smale, Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown, and Liz Pichon, writer and illustrator of the Tom Gates books. The show also included a performance of Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers.
Holly Smale said she was really impressed by the young audience members.
'They were the best. It's so exciting to see just such sparky, fascinated children that love books and who are really just enjoying the adventure of different types of fiction,' she said.
Liz Pichon also described the Norwich audience as 'incredibly enthusiastic,' and said the show, which was performed twice in Norwich today, was a great way to bring books and stories to life for young people.
'I think it's great for children to see how stories are made and all the different types of stories there are, and to show them they can pick up all these different types of books to dive into these different worlds,' she said.
Jarrold is the partner for the Norwich part of The Biggest Book Show on Earth tour which was organised by World Book Day.
WHAT SOME OF THE YOUNG AUDIENCE MEMBERS THOUGHT OF THE BIGGEST BOOK SHOW ON EARTH:
• Gemma Peters, 11, from Town Close School, in Norwich, said: 'It was fun listening to authors of different books. I liked listening to Holly Smale and hearing about her life. I also liked the Imagination Seekers because I really like Roald Dahl. He makes everything come to life in his stories.'
• Sarah Blackburn, 10, from Bluebell Primary School in Norwich, said: 'It was really exciting.
'I liked hearing all the people, especially Holly Smale, and also Julian Clary and David Roberts - their book is really funny. I really like reading to challenge myself. I like funny stories as well.'
• Luna Ferreira, 10, from St Mary and St Peter Catholic Primary School, Gorleston, said: 'I liked how you met so many brilliant authors and they showed you about writing and imagination. I thought Julian Clary was really funny and I loved how he pulled out jokes at the end.
'Reading inspires me because I think that I want to be a writer in the future.'
• April Pells, 11, from Thetford Academy, said: 'It was really fun. I liked it when I got to see Holly Smale because she is my favourite author. She's very creative with Harriet (the main character in her books) and she inspires lots of people to do what they want.
'I like reading because it takes me away to different places.'
Do you have a Norwich arts story? Email arts correspondent Emma Knights at emma.knights@archant.co.uk
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