From Alice in Wonderland to Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games novels, children dressed up as their favourite literary characters for World Book Day.

World Book Day, in its 19th year and marked in more than 100 countries, encourages children to explore the joy of reading by introducing them to new authors and providing schools with books.

Sue Todd, headteacher of St Matthew’s Primary School in Ipswich, said the annual event “reawakens children’s interest in books”.

She said: “It is always a brilliant day which raises people’s love of reading. We had lots of Alice in Wonderland characters (it was the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s novel last year), Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Where’s Wally?, superheroes – a whole range.

“We have to encourage reading for enjoyment as well as reading for information as it’s a life skill and it is something we are desperately trying to encourage because we think if they can read for all sorts of purposes, it is going to help them in life.”

Meanwhile, pupils at Bacton Community Primary School enjoyed a day of writing book reviews and using iPads to make book trailers on iMovie.

Aisha Suhail, head of English at the school and the Year Six teacher, said: “The event encourages a love of reading. Reading is the basis of so much. First you have to learn to read and then you read to learn – and then become good writers. It forms that strong foundation for everything.”

Libraries also held events across the region. Children were given World Book Day £1 book vouchers and storytelling sessions in the evenings were held.

Alison Wheeler, chief executive of Suffolk Libraries, said: “The day is all about inspiring the next generation of readers and showing them how much fun there when exploring the world of books.”

Don’t miss next Wednesday’s EADT for a brilliant 36-page (20-page Star) World Book Day souvenir picture supplement with more than 100 photos taken at our local schools yesterday