Look back at 175 quirky pictures and local highlights ahead of World Book Day

Mo. Basuony

Published: February 23, 2026 7:10 PM ET

Look back at 175 quirky pictures and local highlights ahead of World Book Day

With world book day right around the corner (Thursday, March 5), coverage has collected a wide-ranging gallery of last year’s outfits and local celebrations — from Where’s Wally and Harry Potter to Dear Zoo — and flagged the 2026 event set for March 5. This roundup brings together images and names from Portsmouth, Cheshire and Warrington area schools, notes the 2026 date, the 'Go All In' theme and a handful of editorial extras that appeared alongside the galleries.

World Book Day theme and dates

The theme for World Book Day this year is 'Go All In', presented as a push to promote reading in a modern, fun way. The event is set for Thursday, March 5, and youngsters were noted as benefitting from a book token to spend at participating stores. Recent coverage also referenced World Book Day 2026 with the same March 5 date and included a look back at costumes from World Book Day 2025.

Victory Primary School: staff, pupils and a canine cameo

Staff and pupils from Victory Primary School were photographed dressing to impress for World Book Day 2025. Multiple images show pupils and staff in costume and one image specifically noted Buddy the dog from Victory Primary School dressed up for World Book Day. The Victory Primary School photos were credited as photos by Alex Shute.

Cheshire’s most creative World Book Day 2025 outfits

Children at schools and nurseries across Cheshire were showcased in a collection of standout 2025 outfits. Highlights included:

Kenzie Lowndes from Weaverham as Mr Bump
Eight-year-old Keffran McGrath-McElhoney as Hattie Peck
Eleven-year-old Louie Whittaker as Violet Beauregarde
Swayze, Kismet and Kasteel Lumsden as Willy Wonka, an Oompa Loompa and Charlie Bucket
Two-year-old Leo Woodward as Postman Pat
Five-year-old Ava Rose Leigh as Elsa, from Barnton Primary School (Image: Supplied)
Darnhall Primary School student Freddie Burke, seven, as Elmer the elephant (Image: Supplied)
Ten-week-old Joseph Lambert as Where's Wally (Image: Supplied)
The Smeds and The Smoos, Daisy Smith and Freddie Lee, six, who go to Wincham Primary School (Image: Supplied)

What will your little ones be dressing up as this year? Let editors know in the comments was one of the reader prompts that accompanied the gallery.

Do you recognise anyone in these World Book Day photos?

A separate collection focused on earlier years and named individuals from Warrington-area schools. Itemised entries included schools, years and pupils where provided (Image: NQ entries where indicated):

St Pauls in Burtonwood, 2014 (Image: NQ)
St Peters, Woolston, 2012 (Image: NQ)
Penketh Primary, 2012 – L to R rear: Kiera Gerrard, Adam Glover, Jake Parker, Tanya Currie, Gabrielle Andrus, and Ayesha Williams with Ryan Williams and Charlotte Downes at the front (Image: NQ)
Woolston Community Primary School, 2008 (Image: NQ)
St Bridgets School, 2011 – Lily Harrison, 8, gets a fright from skeleton Daryl Richardson, 9 (Image: NQ)
Penketh Primary School mad hatter tea party in 2014 – Olivia Tran as Alice, Tilly Unsworth as the white rabbit, and a handful of hatters (Image: NQ)
Statham Primary School, 2013 (Image: NQ)
St Monica's Primary School, 2014 (Image: NQ)
St Monica's Primary, 2014 – Ryan Jervis, Emilia Manfredi, Sam Harrison, Georgia Povey, and Fabienne Fisher (Image: NQ)
Stockton Heath Primary School, 2015 (Image: NQ)
St Monica's Primary, 2014 – Raphael Tabiner, Millie Haselden, Harry Smithers, and Ben Warburton (Image: NQ)
St Vincent's Primary, 2015 (Image: NQ)
Bruche Community Primary School, 2015 (Image: NQ)
Ravenbank Primary, Lymm, 2014 (Image: NQ)
Locking Stumps Community Primary School, 2005 – pictured at the front is Sean Whitehead aged 8 as Captain Hook (Image: NQ)
Bradshaw Primary School, 2005 – pictured at the front is Jade Sweeney aged 9 as Shrek (Image: NQ)
Newchurch Primary School, 2005 – pictured from left are Amy Will, 7, Eleanor Dunston, 6, Oliver Weight, 7 and Richard Scholes, 7 (Image: NQ)

Subscription note and unrelated editorial fragments present with the galleries

A digital subscription pitch that appeared alongside the galleries described a subscription as offering unlimited access to the website including premium content, fewer ads, loyalty rewards and more. The galleries were also collated alongside several unrelated sports and media snippets that were present in the same coverage, including: a live-follow note for WWE Raw in Atlanta, Georgia for an Elimination Chamber go-home show; a note that Murray has been sidelined for more than a year with a torn Achilles but wants to play despite the Pelicans having the second-worst record in the West; Woods rejoining the Rams as a coach less than a week after announcing his retirement as a player with the team; a hypothetical that if the league moves forward, officials in the booth would be allowed to assess penalties for very specific actions during games next fall; and an episode summary that breaks down LAFC’s dominant 3-0 win over Inter Miami, a fiery postgame moment from Lionel Messi, MLS opening weekend recap, the tightening Premier League title race as Manchester City hunt down Arsenal, and growing concerns around the 2026 World Cup after New Jersey cancels its fan zone and Gillette Stadium raises funding issues.

Readers should note that some image captions were credited as (Image: Supplied) or (Image: NQ) in the original galleries, and that photographer credit for the Victory Primary School photographs was listed as photos by Alex Shute. Recent updates indicate details and galleries may be expanded; further specifics were unclear in the provided context.