Sir Lenny Henry hails the importance of libraries for children on World Book Day

Sir Lenny Henry has praised the importance of libraries – saying they allow children to immerse themselves in “imaginary worlds and learn about creativity”.

To mark World Book Day on Thursday, the comedian and actor reflected on how reading from an early age helped set him up for a future in the creative industries.

The 64-year-old is among the famous faces supporting this year’s event with new limited-edition books aiming to get children and young people reading for pleasure.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Sir Lenny said: “When I was seven, eight, nine, or 10, my auntie Pearl took me to Dudley library and made me enlist.

“She said, ‘Go in there and disappear’. So I did and the librarians were brilliant. They showed me all these books.

“And it meant that I could immerse myself in these imaginary worlds and learn about creativity. Because when you read a book, you can cast it, you can design the sets, you can imagine what hair people have got, you can do everything in your imagination and that’s why it’s important.

“Apparently, reading is the biggest indication of a child’s future, apart from anything else, so it’s really important to encourage our kids to read.”

Sir Lenny hailed the World Book Day initiative, which gives children a £1 or €1.50 voucher to be exchanged for a range of limited-edition books written for the day or used towards the cost of a full-price book, as a “fantastic charitable act”.

Sir Lenny’s book, The Boy With Wings: Attack Of The Rampaging Robot, is among this year’s selection of £1/€1.50 books.

Books by comedian and former doctor Adam Kay and fitness expert Joe Wicks are among the collection, as well as tales about Spider-Man, creepy crawlies and a choose your own adventure.

Children can spend their book tokens, from National Book Tokens, until March 26.

To claim a digital token, go to worldbookday.com