PUPILS in Wantage were zapped with inspiration when Electrigirl author Jo Cotterill visited.

The Kidlington-based writer came to King Alfred’s Academy to talk about her craft and also ran workshops, as part of this year’s Wantage Betjeman Literary Festival.

Her newest series – aimed at coaxing more youngsters to take up reading – combines traditional book pages with exciting comic strips featuring 12-year-old superhero Holly Sparkes.

Holly becomes ‘Electrigirl’ after gaining electricity powers from a bolt of lightning and sets out to solve the mystery of her best friend’s disappearance.

And contrary to assumptions, Ms Cotterill says the book is popular with girls and boys.

The mum-of-two said: “I deliberately made the hero female because there is a serious lack of them and they are always outnumbered in films.

“This gives girls an opportunity to play and join in too, although boys are totally into the books as well.

“There is this idea that boys don’t want to read books about girls but that’s not at all what I’ve found to be true.”

Ms Cotterill, 40, added: “The stories are told through normal prose , but when Holly uses her powers it switches to comic strips.

“It appeals to kids who might find reading a bit more difficult and the illustrations, by Cathy Brett, are also amazing.”