A WILDLIFE park invited children to share their favourite stories with the animals in celebration of World Book Day.

Youngsters wore their World Book Day fancy dress costumes and accompanied keepers into the enclosures at Drusillas Park, near Alfriston, with a book of their choosing to read aloud to the animals.

The sloths enjoyed Harry Potter, the lemurs learnt about The Hungry Caterpillar and beavers listened to Rumble In The Jungle.

The Argus: Angus, 4, dressed as Willy Wonka to read The Hungry Caterpillar to Augustus the capybara Angus, 4, dressed as Willy Wonka to read The Hungry Caterpillar to Augustus the capybara

Keepers said the event formed part of the zoo’s animal enrichment programme, introducing new and interesting things to keep the animals’ minds stimulated.

Rufus Campbell, seven, dressed in a dinosaur onesie, had meerkats clambering on his lap to listen to him reading Tyrannosaurus Drip, while his younger brother Dylan, four, wore his cat costume to read Tabby McTat to Coco the donkey in the park’s farmyard.

Ella Farley, six, dressed as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter to read the beavers Rumble In The Jungle, and her brother Angus, four, dressed as Willy Wonka to read The Hungry Caterpillar to Augustus the capybara, and together they read to the park’s group of inquisitive lemurs.

The Argus: Angus, 4, dressed as Willy Wonka to read The Hungry Caterpillar to Augustus the capybara Angus, 4, dressed as Willy Wonka to read The Hungry Caterpillar to Augustus the capybara

Gilbert Poland, six, showed off his favourite Avengers book to cheeky armadillos Patsy and Eddie, and his brother Hector, nine, dressed in full Gryffindor attire and matching wand, read from Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban as a special bedtime story for the park’s new baby sloth Athena and mum Halina.

Managing director Ollie Smith said: “We pride ourselves in our educational offerings at Drusillas, from our school sessions and open days to the many educational interactives along our zoo route. Our focus is always on having fun whilst learning and it’s lovely to encourage children to find the fun in reading.

“We know many schools challenge children to take photos reading in an unusual place, so we invited some children in to do just that.”

Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of World Book Day.

The Royal Mail marked the anniversary by unveiling special post boxes celebrating authors and illustrators, including Greg James and Chris Smith, Nadiya Hussain Harry Potter cover illustrator Jonny Duddle.