Excited children queued “out the door” of a Woodford Green bookshop to meet one of their favourite authors on Saturday.

Ilford Recorder: Mayor of Redbrige Felicity Banks visits manager Saba Rais,right, and her mother Roxana at The Village Bookshop's re-launch.Mayor of Redbrige Felicity Banks visits manager Saba Rais,right, and her mother Roxana at The Village Bookshop's re-launch. (Image: Archant)

Andy Stanton, who wrote the Mr Gum series, was the special guest at a launch party for the Village Bookshop, in High Road.

Ilford Recorder: Mayor of Redbrige Felicity Banks visits manager Saba Rais,right, and her mother Roxana at The Village Bookshop's re-launch.Mayor of Redbrige Felicity Banks visits manager Saba Rais,right, and her mother Roxana at The Village Bookshop's re-launch. (Image: Archant)

It has been refurbished by new owner Saba Rais, who invited Mr Stanton after meeting him at a writing workshop.

She said: “It was so much fun. I was worried that people wouldn’t turn up but there were queues of children out the door and down the street.

“It was really exciting for me to see children getting so excited about books and reading.

“It’s a completely different buzz from what they get playing on a tablet or computer game.”

Saba is starting a reading club, children’s groups and storytime events with Redbridge College drama students at the shop.