United Kingdom, May 15 -- Hugh Bonneville has pleaded with parents to "resist handing over the iPad" to their kids, and get them reading instead.

The Downton Abbey star has been making waves with his debut children's book, titled Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room, which tells the story of a young boy keen to escape the boredom of school by going on an adventure.

Seeing the response to the tome, first released last October, has been a rewarding experience for Hugh, and he's keen for it to help inspire young people to turn to books instead of technology,

Hugh, a dad himself to now adult son Felix, told Time Leisure magazine: "I cherished (reading) hugely as a kid. my father was a very busy surgeon and always took time to find 15 ...