Harry Potters, Where's Wallys, princesses and Mad Hatters could be seen heading to classrooms across the county this week as schools got in the spirit of World Book Day.

As part of the worldwide celebration of books and readings, schoolchildren at Watton Junior School and Mattishall Primary School were among hundreds across Norfolk who dressed up as their favourite book characters today.

At Watton, youngsters dressed up as characters including Red Riding Hood, Sherlock Holmes and Mary Poppins.

The day of activities kicked off with a World Book Day assembly and finished with a 'snuggle up' where parents, children and teachers enjoyed a book together.

The Brandon Road school also teamed up with nearby Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School with older children reading to and making books for the younger pupils.

Hermione Rands, 10, from Watton, went to school dressed as Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson books.

She said: 'She is a really good character and is a lot like me.'

Sophie Bates, 10, from Watton, who was dressed up as Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia, said: 'I've been reading the book and I enjoyed the description of her clothes so I decided to dress as her.

'I like it when you can just lose yourself in a book and feel you are actually in a book.'

As part of a range of initiatives to inspire children to read, Watton Junior School also launched its reading cafe this week where parents are invited to go into the school and share books with their children. It has also launched a maths cafe.

Meanwhile, at Mattishall Primary School, children's author David Bedford opened the school's new library.

The new bright and colourful facility, which has cost £2,000 and has been funded by the school and money raised by the Friends of Mattishall Primary, features artwork made by the children, a collection of 1,000 new books, a dragon and castle made by parents and comfortable stools and sofa.

Headteacher Tony Chapman, who was dressed as Harry Potter character Dumbledore as part of the school's World Book Day dressing-up day, said: 'We hope it's going to be a fantastic facility not only for the children but also the parents.

'We want to encourage parents to bring children in before or after school to share that reading experience in a comfortable environment.'

As part of the day of activities, West Runton-based Mr Bedford, who is the school's patron of reading, hosted workshops with the children and spoke to them about his career and writing books.

Are you hosting an event at your school? Email education correspondent Martin George at martin.george@archant.co.uk.