World Book Day will be taking place on Thursday 7th March this year.

The annual celebration of authors, illustrators, books and the joy of reading is a fantastic opportunity to focus on reading for pleasure and embed a habit of reading that can last a lifetime. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.

If your little ones want to join in and dress up as their favourite book character, we’ve rounded up a some ideas to help you get them involved. Whether you’re crafty and want to start from scratch, or you have your heart set on a full costume - Cribbs has it covered...

Crafty fun

There are numerous crafty ways you can create a world book day costume. Cribbs has plenty of craft supplies to help you create some beautiful creations.

Pop into The Works for some ready-to-paint animal masks, take your pick from lion, elephant or giraffe to help recreate some of your favourite tales!

Or, make your own mask from scratch, grab some cardboard (recycle some from home or pop into WHSmith or The Works) and draw yourself a hungry caterpillar face shape. This site also has a handy template to help.

Then the fun part! You can paint, papermache or wrap the mask in colours to make your mask come alive - it’s a lovely activity for children to help with as well.

There are plenty of famous book characters that you can represent with a mask and we’d love to see your creations!

Mix and match

If you’re keen on taking a low key approach this year, you can create your own costumes using items from your wardrobe or by purchasing separates.

Jeans with a red and white striped top and some glasses would make a great Where’s Wally costume. Or for Matilda, grab a blue dress, red ribbon and a stack of school books. There's plenty of ways to create your favourite characters with the help of accessories, don't forget to check out Accessorize, Claire's or H&M kids for those all important finishing touches.

Off the shelf

Check out John Lewis, Claire’s, and The Entertainer for a selection of costumes for World Book Day. Keep your eyes on our Instagram and Facebook channels this week and we’ll be sharing some of the best!

For more ideas check out the World Book Day 2024 website.

Celebrate World Book Day