A RISING children’s author will attempt to set a mass reading record on World Book Day, on Thursday.

Durham teacher Jenny Pearson was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award with her debut novel The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, which was also a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, last year.

But she will try to set the record for the most people in an online reading video relay with her follow-up.

Ms Pearson and pupils at St Margaret’s Primary School will read in relay from her upcoming book The Incredible Record Smashers.

She is teaching half of her class online under home schooling while the other half remain in school as children of key workers.

All will take part in the record-bid, reading extracts from the book in turn either from home or at school.

But to celebrate her forthcoming publication, which follows 11-year-old Lucy’s attempts to win a place on the fictional TV show Record Smashers, publisher, Usborne, is joining forces with World Book Day and Guinness World Records to encourage as many children as possible to take part.

The author said: “I hope children everywhere will have ago at their own book-based challenge on World Book Day, just for fun or as a serious attempt to submit to Guinness World Record.”

Further information on the challenge can be found via Usborne Publishing website.