This is the date of World Book Day 2020 - and the best costume ideas

World Book Day is an annual event which celebrates the uniting love of books around the world and sees people dress up as characters from their favourite reads (Photo: Shutterstock)World Book Day is an annual event which celebrates the uniting love of books around the world and sees people dress up as characters from their favourite reads (Photo: Shutterstock)
World Book Day is an annual event which celebrates the uniting love of books around the world and sees people dress up as characters from their favourite reads (Photo: Shutterstock)

World Book Day is an annual event which celebrates the uniting love of books around the world and sees people dress up as characters from their favourite reads.

Here’s everything you need to know about World Book Day 2020.

What is World Book Day?

World Book Day is an annual celebration of authors, illustrators, books and reading.

This UNESCO initiative is marked in over 100 countries around the globe and aims to celebrate books and reading, particularly among children.

National Book Tokens are usually sent out in the UK and Ireland to allow children to choose their own book to read and unlock their imaginations.

When is World Book Day 2020?

World Book Day always falls on the first Thursday of March.

This year, the global event will take place on Thursday 5 March 2020.

World Book Day Costumes

Each year, people of all ages embrace World Book Day and dress in costumes from a book that has recently stirred their imaginations, literature that they read years ago or favourite characters that have a fond place in their hearts.

Costumes can range from Peter Rabbit to the Gruffalo to various characters from the much-loved Alice in Wonderland.

Harry Potter characters are a firm favourite with those participating in World Book Day.

Children can wear their own school uniform, just adding or swapping ties to match the striped dark red and yellow ones worn by Harry, Ron and Hermione, and adding the staple black cape.

Characters from Roald Dahl’s children’s books are also popular costumes for the event.

From Matilda and her stack of books to Willy Wonka with his top hat, there’s an endless choice of costumes when it comes to Roald Dahl books.

If your child is a fan of Disney characters, then Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Elsa and Anna from Frozen and Rapunzel are all top picks on World Book Day.

Easy costumes

If you’re short on time, but need a costume for your child then these are a few options that are easy to put together - and you might have most of the costume to start with.

Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz simply needs a blue and white gingham dress - which your child may already have as part of their everyday school uniform - red, sparkly shoes and a wicker basket.

A Where’s Wally costume requires a white and red horizontal striped t-shirt, black round glasses and a red and white hat.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda needs a blue dress and a stack of books, whereas Angelina Ballerina needs a pink tutu and leotard, alongside pink ears and a pink hair bow.

Characters from Roald Dahl’s children’s books are also popular costumes for the event (Photo: Shutterstock)

Where can I get World Book Day costumes?

Some of the costumes listed above may be easy to pull together with clothing and material already lying around the house.

If not, Argos, Asda and Sainsbury’s are just a few among numerous places where you can purchase a costume for World Book Day.

Charity shops may also have items needed for a costume, so it’s always worth having a little look inside them to see if there’s anything you can pick up to complete a World Book Day outfit.

You may find inspiration for World Book Day 2020 in the local library, on the television or simply from a favourite book with characters close to your heart.

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