World Book Day

World Book Day 2025 is on 6 March 2025

Find out about my resources for World Book Day by completing the form below

World Book Day 2025 – Very exciting news!

I have written a new Rocky story which has been selected as one of the books you can choose with your World Book Day 2025 vouchers.

In Rocky Takes the Lead – will Rocky be able to take the lead and show both her British and her American friends that they’re all united by football?

Rocky Race loves football so much that she moved to the Unites States to train at a high school with an amazing soccer team. She’s made new friends, even won a State Championship! Now her best friends from her home in Melchester, England have come to play a match against her new American team. Rocky wants all her friends to get along, but her American friends don’t understand the British accents, and her British friends don’t understand why the Americans are so loud. If Rocky doesn’t do something, the whole match could take a very nasty turn.

Available from February 2025 for World Book Day – 6 March 2025
£1 / E1.50 or your WBD voucher

And here’s a recap of activities, dress up ideas and my previous World Book Day films.

Can you judge a book by its cover? Watch below or in YouTube…

Free World Book Day Activities

Free fun quizzes, colouring and a powerpoint for schools to download here and downloadable posters to print for displays or bunting here. Or try these World Book Day dress up ideas … .

Dress Up Ideas

Stuck for ideas on costumes? I have written about a variety of characters and if you are stuck for ideas, I hope there will be something for everyone here to dress up as a character from my books .(Permission has been obtained for all photos of children)

Sports fans could dress up as a runner from Armistice Runner, a footballer from Football Academy or go to school in your rugby kit as Woody, Owen or Rory from Rugby Academy.

Or history fans could dress up as Audrey Hepburn, a soldier, pilot, or sailor or an Iron-age, Viking, Anglo-Saxon or Roman child from one of my other books. There’s lots of ideas below:

Audrey Hepburn from “Resist”

A pupil at a school visit recently surprised me dressed up as a young Audrey Hepburn (shared with permission).

And here is Elsie Cooper – another young Audrey Hepburn ready to resist and deliver her resistance newsletters (shared with permission).

More about Resist here

Lily and the fell runners from “Armistice Runner”

If you enjoy running with a club or can borrow a running vest & shorts or hoodie and leggings with trainers, you could be Lily and one of her team mates from Armistice Runner.

Maybe add a medal round your neck or pin a paper number to your top.

Lucy and Amelie have been inspired by Lily and have taken up fell running and competed in the impressive Kendal Winter League.

Jake and the team from “Football Academy”:

The characters in Football Academy are from a wide range of family backgrounds see the team list here to give you more ideas. Kit tips:

football top (ideally red) but other colours could be the away kit or a goalkeepers kit
shorts
long socks
football boots or trainers
a Football Academy book – borrow one from your local library or print a picture of the cover off here

Mateus from Brazil is “Ben” from Reading the Game

Albie is ... Jake Oldfield — Albie is “Jake” from Boys United

“The only character that my son, Albie (aged 7 and in Year 3) wanted to dress up as on World Book Day was Jake Oldfield from Boys United. I was happy to customize a shirt for him, and he couldn’t have been prouder as he went through the school gates this morning.” Emma

More footballers in my books:

Kofi Danquah is a brilliant young African player from a family of cocoa farmers. With Danny’s help he ends up being signed by a top UK club. (Bi
smark Boateng, the player who I met and based my character Kofi Danquah on, is now on the books of Manchester City and is currently on loan in Norway).

any premier league top
a bar of fairtrade chocolate
a copy of Offside cover here

Lily and Khalid love playing football in Secret FC

any sporty top and trainers
a copy of Secret FC cover here

Robbie is “Khalid” from Secret FC

Lilly is “Rocky” from Rocky of the Rovers

Rocky and Roy of the Rovers are older footballers ideal for both girls and boys to dress up as. Kit tips:

Red & yellow kit
A Melchester Badge
Your favourite Rocky or Roy book

White Fear cover

There are other sporty and brave spying girls and boys in my Squad books Black Op and White Fear more here. In White Fear (sorry, spoiler coming) Lesh is in a wheelchair but he still plays a vital role in the Squad team with his skills in gadgetry and computer systems to prevent an international war breaking out.

a wheelchair
a gadget or laptop

Woody and the team from Rugby Academy

Theo pictured here as Woody from Combat Zone.

Kit tips

rugby / stripy top
shorts / tracksuit bottoms
trainers / rugby boots
mouth shield / head guard

History / Forces

Army – soldiers like Jack in my book Over the Line, who served in the footballer’s battallion from the First World War. Kit ideas:

green top & trousers
black boots
print out this medal

Navy – sailors like Frank, Joseph and Stephen from Arctic Star who served on HMS Belfast in the Second World War. Kit ideas :

A big coat
Wellington boots
A snow shovel
A Sowester hat
Fake snow on fake beards or eyebrows
An Arctic Star medal

RAF Pilots – like Jatinder in my book Flyboy or Greg in Spitfire. Kit ideas:

swimming goggles
hat with ear flaps
heavy jacket

you could even make a cardboard sopwith camel or spitfire to wear

Parachutist like Private Emile Corteil who served in the Parachute Battalion with ‘Para Dog’ Glen and took part in the D-Day landings to Normandy on 6 June 1944 and is a character in my book D-Day Dog. (Thanks for the photo Toby Naidoo from Queensland Australia)

RAF / Modern day pilots – like Jess and Maddie in Typhoon. Kit suggestions:

plainish onesie or dungarees
jacket
helmet with pipes coming out of it

Nadiya and Seth super ghost hunters from Defenders:

If you want to go further back in time, how about dressing up as one of the ghostly visions seen by Nadiya and Seth in my Defenders series:

Killing Ground (Vikings & Anglo Saxons)
Dark Arena (Roman Britain)
Pitch Invasion (Iron Age Celts)

Previous World Book Day resources :

A virtual chat with the Anne Frank Trust about my book “Resist” and the links between Audrey Hepburn and Anne Frank. Catch up now here …

My World Book Day 2023 message about How One Book Can Change Your Life …

To celebrate World Book Day 2022, I recorded a free virtual film from Anne Frank’s Haus, Amsterdam, sharing why her diary is one of my all-time favourite books. Watch below or in YouTube…

Here’s Peterborough United Football Club’s World Book Day film ..

Get in touch if you’d like me to send your school a world book day message. Email me for more information here or use my contact form here.

“The work of this author is making a valuable contribution to improving pupils’ writing.” Ofsted

Buy Books

Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.