Look back at 175 quirky pictures from World Book Day celebrations

With world book day right around the corner (Thursday, March 5), a new gallery brings together 175 quirky pictures of children in costume, reminding readers of last year’s celebrations and the outfits pupils and staff put together.

Victory Primary and Portsmouth pupils pull out all the stops

Children from schools across Portsmouth and its surrounding area dressed as familiar storybook characters, from Where's Wally to Harry Potter to Dear Zoo. Staff and pupils from Victory Primary School dressed to impress for World Book Day 2025, with photos credited to Alex Shute and one picture even showing Buddy the dog from Victory Primary School dressed up for the event.

Theme for this year: ‘Go All In’ — and a token to spend

The theme for World Book Day this year is ‘Go All In’ in a bid to promote the importance of reading in a modern and fun way, and youngsters also benefit from a book token to spend at participating stores.

Cheshire’s most creative outfits: Mr Bump, Hattie Peck and Willy Wonka

Across Cheshire, schools and nurseries shared standout costumes from World Book Day 2025. Kenzie Lowndes from Weaverham dressed as Mr Bump; eight-year-old Keffran McGrath-McElhoney appeared as Hattie Peck; eleven-year-old Louie Whittaker was Violet Beauregarde. Swayze, Kismet and Kasteel Lumsden turned up as Willy Wonka, an Oompa Loompa and Charlie Bucket. Two-year-old Leo Woodward came as Postman Pat, five-year-old Ava Rose Leigh represented Elsa at Barnton Primary School, and Darnhall Primary School student Freddie Burke, seven, posed as Elmer the elephant. A ten-week-old Joseph Lambert was pictured as Where's Wally, and The Smeds and The Smoos — Daisy Smith and Freddie Lee, six, who go to Wincham Primary School — were also included.

Do you recognise anyone in the archive from Warrington area schools?

A separate set of photographs reaches back through the years across Warrington-area schools. St Pauls in Burtonwood and St Peters, Woolston appear in the collection; Penketh Primary, 2012, shows Kiera Gerrard, Adam Glover, Jake Parker, Taya Currie, Gabrielle Andrus and Ayesha Williams with Ryan Williams and Charlotte Downes at the front (Image: NQ). Woolston Community Primary School appears from 2008. St Bridgets School, 2011, shows Lily Harrison, 8, getting a fright from skeleton Daryl Richardson, 9 (Image: NQ). Penketh Primary School’s 2014 mad hatter tea party pictures include Olivia Tran as Alice and Tilly Unsworth as the white rabbit (Image: NQ).

Further archive shots include Statham Primary School; St Monica's Primary School; a St Monica's Primary 2014 group of Ryan Jervis, Emilia Manfredi, Sam Harrison, Georgia Povey and Fabienne Fisher (Image: NQ); Stockton Heath Primary School; another St Monica's Primary 2014 picture of Raphael Tabiner, Millie Haselden, Harry Smithers and Ben Warburton (Image: NQ); St Vincent's Primary; Bruche Community Primary School; Ravenbank Primary, Lymm; Locking Stumps Community Primary School with Sean Whitehead aged 8 as Captain Hook (Image: NQ); Bradshaw Primary School with Jade Sweeney aged 9 as Shrek (Image: NQ); and Newchurch Primary School pictured from left Amy Will, 7, Eleanor Dunston, 6, Oliver Weight, 7 and Richard Scholes, 7 (Image: NQ).

Community prompts and unrelated items in the round-up

One piece of copy asked readers: What will your little ones be dressing up as this year? Let us know in the comments. The broader page also included short, separate items that are not World Book Day related: fantasy baseball analyst Corbin Young goes over key trends to expect this offseason and draft season; follow-along coverage of the 2026 NFL scouting combine was mentioned; a business line noted that Apple’s biggest weakness for a large chunk of 2025 is becoming a strength in the early weeks of 2026 as convulsions rock the AI trade; there was a look at top performances from High Score to form the Week 17 perfect fantasy basketball lineup; and Dan Titus broke down top players fantasy hoops managers should add for a boost.

A digital subscription pitch also appeared on the page, noting that a digital subscription can provide unlimited access to the website, fewer ads, loyalty rewards and other benefits (unclear in the provided context which specific subscription package was referenced).

The next confirmed milestone is the literary event set for March 5, with World Book Day 2026 scheduled for that date; readers can expect more costume galleries and school features around that time.