Dame Jacqueline Wilson has visited a zoo to read the animals some of her books for World Book Day.
The renowned novelist, who lives in Alfriston, spent an afternoon with head keeper Gemma Romanis at Drusillas Zoo Park not far from her home to read her most famous book – The Story of Tracy Beaker.
Jacqueline read to capybaras, lemurs, meerkats, monkeys and sloths.
She and her wife Trish had close encounters with some of the zoo’s friendliest and most curious animals and also got to feed them their favourite treats.
Cheeky capybara baby Tango demanded cuddles from her and the lemur Clementine happily settled down next to her to listen to her story.
Head keeper Gemma said: “What an honour to meet Jacqueline and invite her into our animal world. I grew up reading the Tracy Beaker books and she definitely inspired a love of reading for me, so it’s wonderful with the help of Jacqueline to encourage other children to read by showing them that even our animals enjoy it.”
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“Education is one of our core values at Drusillas and we design every inch of our zoo to spark curiosity about the natural world and engage children to learn in fun ways, so our animals always participate in World Book Day," said Gemma.
"But, this year was really special.
“Reading to the animals is of course a fun way to take part in a worldwide celebration, but it also forms part of our daily enrichment programmes for our animals.
"Every day we introduce new and interesting objects, puzzles, and scents to stimulate their minds and keep them active, which helps to encourage natural behaviours. Although it just looks like fun, it also keeps our animals healthy and happy to let them explore something new – today it was the pages of a book and a new friend.”
Jacqueline signed four copies of her novel which Drusillas Park will be giving away on its Facebook page on World Book Day today – one of which is particularly special as it was nibbled by meerkats on the day.
Jacqueline has written more than 100 books in her career which has spanned more than 50 years.
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