A SPECIAL visitor comes to Selby this Saturday (October 14) to launch a children’s event.

The Gruffalo will be at Market Cross shopping centre from 11am to 1pm to launch a hidden word trail.

Lizzie Russell from Market Cross, said: “We are excited to launch this Gruffalo trail – it’s a great way to get children out of the house and add excitement to the shopping experience.”

The hit children’s story of The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson has sold 13.5 million copies.

Children can pick up their trail map from The Works book store and follow signs round the centre, spotting the Gruffalo’s orange eyes, black tongue and purple back prickles and some of the other characters from the book.

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Each stop on the Gruffalo trail will have a letter displayed and players must follow the trail in the correct order to spell out the hidden word.

Once the entry sheet has been completed, participants can  hand their map back into The Works to be entered into a prize draw for a £50 gift card.

A new collection based on the story is soon to be on sale in the town.

Store Manager at The Works, Tasha Kierans, said: “We are receiving a great response to the collection so far and have much more on its way.

“We can’t wait for the trail to start and welcome all of our young Gruffalo fans to Market Cross.”

The Gruffalo Trail runs from October 14 to November 30 at Market Cross in Selby.