From Aslan to Paddington - the NI sculptures shaping our children's stories

It's almost time for World Book Day - a time when many schools encourage children to dress up as characters from their favourite stories.

But what has Northern Ireland got to offer to get children reading and talking about books before the big day arrives?

BBC News NI has been exploring some of the best book-themed attractions ahead of this year's event on 5 March.

From Aslan to Paddington Bear, we've found some much-loved characters for young bookworms to visit.

The international bestseller Guess How Much I Love You was written by the late Sam McBratney, a lifelong resident of Lisburn.

His beloved bedtime story is a conversation between two hares who are trying to describe the strength of their feelings for one another.

A public art and literature trail based on the children's classic was created in the city in 2023 to celebrate McBratney's legacy.

The trail stretches from Castle Gardens to Wallace Park to Haslem's Lane to Lisburn Square.

A 4ft-tall bronze sculpture of Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare stands in Castle Gardens, while carved wooden hares are dotted around Wallace Park.

Other features include three hand-carved benches and murals based on illustrations from the book.

Roberta Carser lives in nearby Hilden and enjoys taking her young granddaughter Torie to Wallace Park.

Torie has a copy of Guess How Much I Love You at home, but she is still a little too young to follow the trail.

"When she gets bigger, hopefully we'll bring her and she'll be able to come on her bike or whatever and we'll be able to stop and look at them and read what it says," Roberta said.

She believes the trail is likely to start conversations among young readers.

"Children are inquisitive and they're bound to come and say: 'What is that?'

"And hopefully it would make parents say: 'There's a lovely book all about that and we could get the book and read it'."

Local teacher and first-time mum Katie Alexander also visits Wallace Park with her daughter Isabella and agrees the sculptures get families talking about the book.

"Obviously Isabella is a little bit young to fully understand the concept.

"But I've seen other parents, grandparents, with their children sitting on the benches and looking at the sculptures and talking around them," she said.

As an educator, does she think public art like this can help young readers?

"If children are already familiar with the text and the imagery associated with the book then, yes absolutely.

"It's all those early reading strategies that you want children to be aware of, so it's the visual along with then the language and the development that comes with that."

The Lisburn trail is free to enjoy and more details are available on a dedicated app.

CS Lewis Square, located in east Belfast, is a public space that commemorates Belfast-born author, CS Lewis.

It is home to seven sculptures inspired by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - the first of the seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Much of the novel is set in Narnia, as the Pevensie children discover the land of talking animals and mythical creatures, ruled by the evil White Witch.

Visitors to CS Lewis Square can see Mr Tumnus, Maugrim, the White Witch, Mr and Mrs Beaver, the Stone Table, the robin and overlooking them all, Aslan.

The space is open to the public 24 hours a day.

According to Sian Cairns, senior services manager at Libraries NI, artwork can make books feel "more exciting and accessible rather than intimidating or difficult" for children.

"Seeing a statue out on a trail links to a story, it turns reading into something real and tangible, not just something that happens in schools," she added.

"Anything that helps a child get excited about a story is a positive thing, and libraries are here to take them on that next step once they've seen the statues."

Colin Glen Forest Park in west Belfast is home to another trail - a nature walk themed around Julia Donaldson's bestselling children's book, the Gruffalo.

Her book tells the story of a clever mouse who meets a series of increasingly scary predators while taking a stroll in a "deep, dark wood".

At Colin Glen, children can re-trace the mouse's steps, spotting all the hungry characters who were outsmarted by the tiny hero along the way.

The 10-year-old trail is lined with sculptures including the clever mouse, the fox, the owl, the snake and the Gruffalo himself.

Belfast mum Sinead Campbell and her four-year-old son Joshua often walk the trail together.

"This little man loves the Gruffalo and all the books, so it's a good way of keeping him motivated to keep walking up these hills," she told BBC News NI.

"It's a great idea to incorporate reading and books and nature."

She added Joshua "loves to explore all the different creatures" and "loves to get his photo taken with them".

The Paddington statue in Conway Square, Newtownards, shows the beloved bear snacking on his favourite marmalade sandwiches.

English author Michael Bond's books follow the adventures of Paddington who travels to London from Peru and is adopted by the Brown family.

More than 20 benches featuring the children's character were temporarily placed in towns across the UK in 2024 ahead of the launch of the film Paddington in Peru.

Newtownards is Paddington's only stop in Northern Ireland.