It’s World Book Day today (March 7) and children across East Lancashire have been dressing as their favourite literary characters.
World Book Day was created by UNESCO on April 23 1995. It is a worldwide celebration of books and reading.
Lancashire Telegraph readers have been sharing pictures of children in their costumes – and they look fantastic.
Travis, aged five, was dressed as Andy from Dinosaur Adventure.
Albie Dea, aged one, looked adorable, dressed as The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.
20-month-old Matteo dressed as Noddy, a character created by author Enid Blyton.
Charlie Hawkins Bunten shared an image of Hattie Faith as Peter Rabbit, a character who appears in various children's stories by author Beatrix Potter.
Tracey Holroyd shared an image of seven-year-old Reuben dressed as Paddington.
Georgia Mai, aged six, was Harry Potter character Hermione Granger. Sophie, aged eight (going on 84) was dressed as David Walliams character Gangsta Granny.
Jordan, aged eight, covered himself in orange paint as an Oompa Loompa, from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Tommy Wilkinson, aged six, thought outside the box and dressed as a golden ticket, which features in the same book.
Keeping with the Roald Dahl theme was Harriet, aged six, who dressed as Matilda.
Emma Brown shared a picture of Josie, aged five, who looked “practically perfect in every way”, dressed as Mary Poppins.
Padiham Primary School pupil, Georgie, aged five, went to school as as villain Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians.
Amelia Phillipson, aged eight, dressed as scary headteacher, from Matilda, Miss Trunchbull.
World Book Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries around the globe. The first World Book Day in the UK and Ireland took place in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading.
World Book Day founder, Baroness Gail Rebuck, said: “We wanted to do something to reposition reading and our message is the same today as it was then – that reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives.”
The theme for World Book Day 2024 is 'Read Your Way'.
Explaining this year's theme, the charity said: "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.
"However, research from the National Literacy Trust found that fewer than 1 in 2 (47.8%) children now say they enjoy reading; this is the lowest level since 2005, and reading enjoyment is lowest among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Read Your Way calls on everyone to let go of pressure and expectations, giving children a choice – and a chance – to enjoy reading."
So send us your World Book Day photos - email wbdlancashiretelegraph@newsquest.co.uk. Don't forget to include your child's full name, age and the character they are dressed up as.
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