The Gruffalo and Percy Patch come to school to celebrate their creator

Village school pupils let their imagination run riot as they entered the wild fantasy world of children’s author Julia Donaldson for the day.

Horrabridge Primary School youngsters dressed as characters such as Peg Polkadot, Hank Chief, Gruffalo, The Troll, Percy Patch and Ben Buckle in an impressive range of colourful costumes on Monday, September 14.

They also brought in their favourite character-themed soft toy, such as owls, foxes and Gruffalos, and played with them on specially laid out tables with fake turf and leaves to mimic the story landscapes.

Part of the fun day was peeling and chopping potatoes and carrots to make a real vegetarian stew for the lead character in Julia Donaldson’s latest just-published book ‘Gruffalo Granny’. The picture book features a mouse strolling in the wood and encountering a series of predators. The stew was supposed to be a mouse stew for granny, but she is a vegetarian.

John Clarke, school headteacher, said: “We celebrated our own Julia Donaldson Day to mark the release of her new ‘Gruffalo Granny’ story book.

“Children and staff dressed as beloved characters from her books. They also shared stories by reading them aloud to each other and some even made their own ‘granny stew’.

‘The Gruffalo’ was first published in 1999 and written in rhyming couplets with repetitive verse. The book is inspired by a Chinese folk tale called ‘The Fox the Borrows the Terror of a Tiger’. ‘The Gruffalo’, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, has sold more than 13.5 million copies and has won several prizes for children’s literature, including the Nestle Smarties Book Prize.

It has also been adapted into plays and an animated film and inspired a commemorative coin, a Chessington World of Adventures ride. ‘The Gruffalo’ was followed by ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’, also illustrated by Scheffler.