World Book Day, the annual “worldwide celebration of books and reading” created by Unesco in 1995 and celebrated in more than 100 countries, will be held this year on Thursday 7 March, 2024.
Events were first held in the UK and Ireland in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading and celebrations have since become a regularity in schools in particular, with activities often including a dress-up day when children are encouraged to dress as their favourite book character.
Below, i takes a look at some of the best costume ideas for World Book Day 2024.
When is World Book Day 2024?
World Book Day this year is on Thursday 7 March, 2024.
It is celebrated every year on the first Thursday in March.
The theme for World Book Day 2024 is “Read Your Way”, with the charity explaining: “World Book Day 2024 will celebrate that children are more likely to enjoy reading when their choices are championed and we make reading fun.”
“Reading for pleasure improves children’s life chances across a range of social, educational and well-being measures”.
It said that National Literacy Trust research found that less than half of children (47.8 per cent) now say they enjoy reading, which is the lowest level since 2005, while one in seven UK primary schools reportedly do not have a library or library space.
What are the best costumes this year?
Here are a few costume ideas for World Book Day 2024.
Harry Potter (and co)
You can’t go far wrong with one of the most popular series around.
The obvious dress-up choice here may be the titular character himself, for which a ready-made costume (of which there are many) on Amazon will set you back about £20.
A DIY outfit could be as simple as a pair of round glasses, a drawn-on scar, school uniform with a tie, a black cloak or coat and something resembling a wand.
But there are also plenty of other much-loved characters to choose from, including Potter’s red-headed best friend Ron Weasley, heroine Hermione Granger or Dobby the Elf.
Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka may have sprung several film adaptations, spin-offs – most recently the Timothée Chalamet-led Wonka – and a bizarre scam in Glasgow, but the character of course originated in the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
A costume for this one, as well as the alternative option of an Oompa Loompa, may be a little harder to craft yourself than Harry Potter, calling for a bow-tie (usually), top hat and purple overcoat.
But there are sure to be costumes out there online and in stores, particularly in the lead up to World Book Day – and you may even be able to snag yourself a deal with just a few days to go until this year’s event.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland
Alice, from the 1865 children’s novel by Lewis Carroll, is another surefire World Book Day costume classic.
Like our first two options, this could be made yourself – a blue dress, white pinafore on, long white socks and simple black ankle-strap shoes – or quite easily found ready to buy.
The Mad Hatter would perhaps be trickier to pull off as a DIY creation, but should also be a popular enough option that costumes could be found out there.
Matilda
Another relatively simple one is Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
For the classic look, think plain blue dress, red Alice band or hair bow, long white socks, black shoes – and don’t forget to bring a book!
Spider-Man
Comic books can count, right?
If so – the word “book” is in the name, after all – there are countless characters to choose from.
These could include Spider-Man, the iconic superhero who first appeared in Marvel comics in 1962 and has since featured in too many movies, TV shows and video games to name here.
With the character’s popularity and range of “supersuits” over the years, this is another one that should be easy enough to find a ready-made costume for either online or in big supermarkets or fancy dress stores.
Meanwhile, other popular comic book superheroes that might make for a good World Book Day costume could include DC Comics‘ Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman.
Tintin
Speaking of comic book characters, how about Tintin?
The main character from the comic series created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi shouldn’t be too hard to replicate: he’s usually found in brown shoes, brown pants and a blue or yellow collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, with a little white dog companion (Snowy) and – most importantly – a signature quiff in his hair.
The Famous Five (any of them)
Enid Blyton’s Famous Five may have found its way to a new generation of children through CBBC’s recent remake, and like Tintin, costumes for any of the five – well, maybe aside from Timmy the dog – would be both pretty reusable and simple to put together on short notice.
If going off the book series’ most recent on-screen adaptation, some combination and of a yellow, collared summer dress and red shoes for Anne; black dress trousers, blue button down shirt and suspenders for Julian; brown trousers and an orange short-sleeved shirt for George; or shorts, long socks, a red polo and colourful sweater vest plus a backpack for Dick should do.
That, and a nose for adventure!
Cat in the Hat
Less reusable as an everyday outfit than the Famous Five options, but this Dr Seuss character is another World Book Day classic.
And just as Harry Potter and Willy Wonka present various side characters that could also be viable for a dress-up day, The Cat in the Hat also has two children characters, Conrad and Sally Walden, as well as Thing 1 and Thing 2 – all shown in a still from a Saturday Night Live skit.
