Children at Ellesmere Primary School were transported to a world of animals and adventure when author Jess Butterworth paid them a visit.

The fiction writer dropped into speak to pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 to talk to them about her books and explain the inspiration behind them.

And their imaginations ran wild as Jess captivated them with tales of mystery and escapade set in the Himalayan Mountains, packed with creatures great and small and carrying important messages about friendship and healing.

Year 6 teacher Suzanne Gathercole said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed our visit from Jess.

“We learned about the Himalayas and yaks – we’d all like our own baby kangaroo now!

“The children have taken away some the books to read and I can’t wait to hear how much they are enjoying them.”

Jess, who splits her time between Louisiana in the USA and Frome in Somerset, spent a lot of time in India as a child and draws on some real-life experiences to create her spellbinding novels.

Her latest, entitled When The Mountains Roared, is inspired by her grandma who once smuggled a kangaroo joey out of Australia.

Set in the mountains of India, it is the story of a girl determined to protect wild leopards from poachers, and it is aimed at children aged eight and above.

Ellesmere Primary is part of the North West Academies Trust (NWAT), who believe in making varied and exciting learning experiences – often away from the classroom – an important part of the curriculum.

Other NWAT schools include Oak View at Winsford, Delamere near Northwich and St Martin’s at Chester.