DICK King-Smith, the creator of Babe, and writer of many popular children's books, came to Devizes last week to launch a new book club for children.

Chatterbooks reading club is designed for children between the age of eight and 11, and has been set up by Wiltshire County Council's library service. It is an educational initiative, funded by the Orange Prize for Fiction, to establish a national network of children's reading groups run in libraries.

The scheme is being co-ordinated by the Library Development Agency and the Reading Agency.

Community librarian Wendy Beaver said: "The aim of this initiative is to inspire young people to read adventurously, develop confidence in expressing their opinions and have a good time talking about books."

Mr King-Smith has written a host of children's books since retiring as a farmer in Somerset. Among his popular stories is The Sheep Pig, which was used as the basis for the film Babe.

He spoke to the children about how he writes his popular stories and he signed copies of his books.