World Book Day is coming - and that means kids are deciding which of their favourite fictional characters they will be dressing up as this year.
This is the world’s biggest celebration of reading, where the UK and Ireland’s book industry tackle falling literacy levels and aim to create readers of the future.
For 2018, the charity is also recommending a set of books for teen and young adult readers as part of its 21st World Book Day celebrations.
Research found that that 60 per cent of children aged eight to 11 have been inspired to read more by the event.
This year's chosen books are based on a theme of 'inclusivity' so young readers see the world in which they live reflected between the pages.
So when is World Book Day this year, what are the selected books and what are the best costume ideas?
Here's all you need to know.
When is World Book Day 2018?
World Book Day is on Thursday, March 1, 2018.
From late February 2018, children in the UK and Ireland will be given a £1 (€1.50 in Ireland) book token in their nurseries, preschools and schools.
They can use it claim their free World Book Day title in participating bookshops and supermarkets from February 26 to March 25, 2018, or to put towards the £2.50 special edition young adult titles, enabling them to purchase them for just £1.50.
Last year, over 1.2 million book tokens were redeemed.
World Book Day was first marked in the UK in 1997, in response to growing concerns over poor reading and writing standards in children.
What are the selected books this year?
The World Book Day books for 2018 in full are:
Oi Goat! by Kes Gray and Jim Field (Hodder Children’s Books)
Mr Men: My Book About Me By Mr Silly written and illustrated by Adam Hargreaves, original concept by Roger Hargreaves (Egmont)
The Baby Brother From Outer Space! by Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham (Nosy Crow)
Paddington Turns Detective and Other Funny Stories by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story by Nadiya Hussain, illustrated by Clair Rossiter (Hodder Children’s Books)
Terry’s Dumb Dot Story: A Treehouse Tale by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Macmillan)
The Girl Who Thought She Was a Dog by Clare Balding, illustrated by Tony Ross (Puffin)
Brain Freeze by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Shane Devries (Puffin)
The Bolds’ Great Adventure by Julian Clary, illustrated by David Roberts (Andersen Press)
Marvel Avengers: The Greatest Heroes by Alastair Dougall (DK)
Ireland only:
Rugby Roar by Gerard Siggins (O’Brien Press)
Teen & Young Adult:
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Penguin)
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson (Egmont)
Summoner: The Novice by Taran Matharu (Hachette)
Gangsta Rap by Benjamin Zephaniah (Bloomsbury)
Best costume ideas
Some popular costume ideas for this year are expected to be Horrid Henry, Cinderella, the Queen of Hearts, Peter Rabbit, Mr Men, Violet Beauregarde and characters from the Wizard of Oz.
You may decide to do home-made costumes or you can get them ready-made from shops such as Asda and Sainsbury's as well as online stores including Amazon and eBay
Horrid Henry
Horrid Henry is set to be a popular choice this year.
The character was created in a children's book series by Francesca Simon, illustrated by Tony Ross.
He has also featured in a movie, video games and a TV series.
There's a selection of Horrid Henry fancy dress costumes at Amazon and also some on offer at eBay
At Asda there's chance to dress as a princess, superhero or a character from the worlds of Harry Potter, Roald Dahl or David Walliams:
Harry Potter
You can enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry thanks to the Asda range of Harry Potter clothing including Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin robes, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger costumes and a Hogwarts T-shirt, bodysuit and pyjamas.
Harry Potter Hufflepuff Robes fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Harry Potter Ravenclaw Robes fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Harry Potter Slytherin Robes fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Harry Potter Draco Malfoy fancy dress costume from £14 - get it here
Adult Harry Potter Professor McGonagall fancy dress £22 - get it here
Harry Potter Hermione Granger fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Harry Potter Hogwarts T-shirt from £6 - get it here
Harry Potter 'Wizard in Training' Bodysuit £3.50 - get it here
Harry Potter Hogwarts Pyjamas £10 - get them here
Spend £30 and save 20 per cent.
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl Oompa Loompa fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Fantastic Mr Fox fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Violet Beauregarde fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Augustus Gloop fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Willy Wonka fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl The BFG fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Matilda fancy dress costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl The BFG fancy dress costume online exclusive from £14 - get it here
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Veruca Salt costume from £15 - get it here
Roald Dahl Charlie and The Chocolate Factory pyjamas from £9 - get them here
David Walliams
Step into the world created by David Walliams with costumes based on Awful Auntie Alberta, Gangsta Granny, Mr Stink and the evil Burt from Ratburger.
Check out the range of David Walliams fancy dress options here
Princesses
There's a host of options for little ones to transform into a princess in Asda's World Book Day range.
Each is inspired by a classic story including Little Mermaid, Frozen, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Moana, Alice in Wonderland and Beauty & The Beast.
Check out the Queen of Hearts costume from Alice in Wonderland among the range on offer.
You can see the entire range of princess costumes here
Superheroes
Asda's superhero costumes for children and adults include Batman, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Hulk, Mr or Mrs Incredible, Superman, Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Transformers Bumblebee or Optimus Prime, Captain America, Power Rangers and even a Spider-Girl outfit.
Great choices include the Thor costume and the Iron Man light-up costume .
Check out the entire superhero fancy dress range here
What else is happening for World Book Day?
Working with booksellers and publishers, World Book Day is targeting teenagers and young adults in their own online spaces as well as offering a choice of books in store.
The special edition full-length titles will be available at the exclusive price of £2.50 or £1.50 with a World Book Day token (special World Book Day editions in participating retailers only) and include favourites John Green (An Abundance of Katherines), Frances Hardinge (Fly by Night), Penny Joelson (I Have No Secrets), Taran Matharu (Summoner: The Novice) and Benjamin Zephaniah (Gangsta Rap).
Bookclubbing
In line with the titles, World Book Day will present Bookclubbing, a new movement encouraging teenagers to spread the word about their favourite stories and make a noise about books online and in real life.
Biggest Show on Earth
Alongside activity on World Book Day itself, the charity will be running a national tour of author/illustrator events in theatre venues around the country.
The Biggest Book Show on Earth will be from February 26 to March 3 with 35 authors and illustrators, visiting six locations throughout the UK and Ireland includes.
The authors and illustrators include Atinuke, Clare Balding, Jennifer Bell, Pamela Butchart, Cathy Cassidy, Julian Clary & David Roberts, Tracey Corderoy & Steven Lenton, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Cressida Cowell, Adrian Edmondson, Abi Elphinstone, Olaf Falafel, Kes Gray & Jim Field, Tom Fletcher, Andy Griffiths, Nadiya Hussain, Derek Landy, Jonathan Meres, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, E.R. Murray, David O’Doherty & Chris Judge, Dermot O’Leary, Liz Pichon, Gerard Siggins, Francesca Simon, Holly Smale, Alex T. Smith and Katherine Woodfine. All events on the tour will be hosted by author Steven Butler.
Host cities for this year’s tour are: Dublin, Oswestry, Aberystwyth, Doncaster, Brighton and Newcastle.
In each location, World Book Day will work closely with local partners to bring the events to life, arranging bookselling and coordinating with local schools to invite children to attend.
The event in Newcastle will be open to family public audiences for the first time, with booking now open. In addition to these dates, there will be two 30-minute exclusive online specials, including an Illustrator Extravaganza, available for schools, bookshops and libraries to stream from the World Book Day website.
World Book Day Award
The charity is also bringing back the World Book Day Award, which gives schools the opportunity to win life-changing libraries of books.
In 2017 the competition involved over 76,000 children, their families and communities, themed around A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston, published by Walker Books.
This year, World Book Day will partner with Piccadilly Press, theming the award on the Flying Fergus series of books by Sir Chris Hoy, Joanna Nadin and Clare Elsom. All three will join the judging panel, with £20,000 of books to be bought in local bookshops to be won.
For the first time, every child that enters will also receive a certificate signed by the Flying Fergus team and the winning school will be visited by Chris Hoy, Joanna Nadin and Clare Elsom to receive their prize.
Share A Story
This year’s Share A Story theme encourages adults, parents and older siblings to participate by reading and sharing stories and books with family, friends and colleagues alike.
It will be asking the nation to ‘TAKE 10’ and recognise the positive impact that reading together for only 10 minutes a day can have on a child’s future.
To give parents and children ideas of what to read next, World Book Day have launched a nationwide poll to find the nation’s favourite #storiestoshare.
The search is on to find the ultimate list of the nation’s 100 favourite stories to share for children and young people of all ages.
The shortlist, which is open for voting, features crowd-sourced favourites from authors, illustrators, teachers, children and young people, librarians, booksellers, literacy experts, reviewers and parents.
The public are encouraged to vote for their favourites across four categories; picture books, 5-8s, 9-12s and teenagers.
The Share A Story poll, sponsored by National Book Tokens and in association with Fun Kids Radio, is now live and the final list of the Top 100 Stories To Share will be revealed on World Book Day 2018.
