WORLD Book Day returns this week, with schools in Barrow preparing to be swept up in the adventure.

Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the event, and one local author believes its legacy should not be overlooked.

Gill Jepson says the celebration of literary work is crucial to a child's development.

She said: “It's a very important day for children. It engages them with books.

“With everything there is to distract them these days you've got to be innovative with what you do.

“It's not just functional but it's got lots of information that helps children develop their own viewpoint of the work.

“It's quite often easy for children to play a game but books get our cognitive skills working and help them develop, and that's important too.”

Schools across the region will take part in the day, which celebrates the authors, illustrators and books capturing the imaginations of children across the world.

Each school has its own activities and methods to get children interested in reading in the age of computer games, with book fever sweeping the nation.

The day is designed to help children find the books that interest them the most, having been running since 1997.

Many schools routinely allow pupils to dress up as their favourite fictional characters, from Harry Potter to Roald Dahl's many creations.

This year organisers are distributing more than 15 million book tokens to children, allowing them to get one of 10 exclusive new children's books for free.

Mrs Jepson said: “It's part of a school's national calendar now and that's great. They're very good at using it to promote reading books.

“Hopefully it continues for a long time to come.

“It showcases the massive range of books to choose from so they can find something they like. There's something for everyone, but it also shows the opportunities for writers out there.”

As well as the annual event, Mrs Jepson works throughout the year to get children interested in reading.

For over a year she has worked as a patron of reading at a trio of primary schools in the area, with her work focusing on the fantasy worlds around Furness Abbey.

She regularly visits Broughton CE, Lindal and Marton, and Dalton St Mary's CE primary schools to help develop the pupils' love of reading.

She said: “I've been doing talks in schools since 2011, but I've been a patron of reading now for around 18 months.

“In essence schools adopt an author to come in, sit with the children and give talks about their books and writing. It promotes books through reading and activities.

“I'm at Broughton on Thursday but the role works through the year. It'll be nice to touch base and see them again because I haven't been able to get back there since the new term started."

The patron of reading is a school's dedicated children's author, poet, storyteller or illustrator aimed at creating a buzz around books and reading.

Mrs Jepson said: “In essence schools adopt an author to come in, sit with the children and give talks about their books and writing.

“It's something I like doing. It's nice to meet your readers and get their thoughts and feelings on what they like.

“I've got a lot of friends in the author community and the National Association of Writers, so I heard about the patron of reading there.

“They asked me if I wanted to do it and I did. Luckily for me there were three schools interested in working with me.”

Is your child dressing up for World Book Day? Send us your photos of them channelling their favourite fictional characters to news.em@nwemail.co.uk