Bestselling author Francesca Simon joined local schoolchildren on Tuesday for a special book signing at Canada Water Library.

The author’s visit was linked to World Book Day which took place last week.

The award-winning writer of more than 45 books read extracts from the next title in her Horrid Henry series, Horrid Henry’s Nightmare, as well as sharing her experiences as a writer and signing books for the young audience of Southwark school children attending the event.

The author was joined by Cllr Veronica Ward, cabinet member for culture, leisure, sport, the Olympic Legacy and volunteering who said:

We are thrilled to have been able to bring local children closer to one of their favourite authors. We hoped to have got local children’s imaginations fired up and on the journey to becoming avid readers.

In Southwark we are excited about libraries. From our libraries in Canada Water to Peckham, we’ve continuously investing in each to ensure that they’re responsive to the local communities they serve. With over 500,000 visitors in its first year of opening, Canada Water Library has been a great success and we hope to be able to mirror this success in the new Camberwell library planned for 2014.

Commenting on the event, Francesca Simon said: “It is an absolute pleasure to visit such a thriving community library that is clearly doing so much to promote reading. This event was a lovely way to celebrate World Book Day.”

World Book Day aims to help children explore the pleasure of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own, and encouraging them to join the library.