If you have them around at home, you can also add in white cat ears and white face paint to create Squishy’s cheeky face. You will need: White paper/card, scissors, a staple, a hot glue gun or safety pins and a white outfit. The Gift of Dark Hollow was nominated for the Carnegie Award 2019. Illustration by David Wyatt The Beasts of Grimheart For fans of all things robots and sci-fi, create your own DIY Iron Man costume inspired by Ted Hughes’ classic children’s book. You will need: Two cardboard boxes, one slightly bigger than the child’s head and one slightly bigger than the child’s torso. You will also need foil and a pair of scissors. World Book Day this year takes place on Thursday 2nd March 2023, and we can’t wait for the world to join us in our passion for sharing amazing stories with children. Whether you’re a teacher or a parent, we know it can be overwhelming to come up with costume ideas for children, so we’ve put together a selection of easy ways to dress up inspired by some of our favourite characters. Absolutely no sewing necessary. We’ve tried to keep our costumes simple and to use items you might already have at home. In The Beasts of Grimheart, Podkin, Paz and Pook once again find their home under threat – this time, however, they are ready to fight! First, Podkin and the others must seek out their uncle’s magic bow, a weapon that can save them all. But as they venture into the depths of the forest, it seems they may have been betrayed….Will our band of bunnies have what it takes to save their home, and each other? We sure hope so!

Dress up as our favourite invisible cat, Pip Jones and Ella Okstad‘s Squishy McFluff! Use our mask as a template, dress all in white and walk around as silently as possible – you’re invisible after all! The Legend of Podkin One-Ear’ won the Blue Peter Book Award 2017, the Prix Sorcieres 2019, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2018 and nominated for the Carnegie Award 2018. It has also been optioned for television. Illustration by David Wyatt The Gift of Dark Hollow Podkin’s world has been taken over by a race of evil iron-covered rabbits called the Gorm. When they come to his warren one Bramblemas Eve, he finds himself running for his life and fighting to survive. First, cut out a single strip of white card long enough to fit around the child’s head, just like our cat ear headbands earlier in the article.

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First, cut out a single strip of white paper long enough to fit comfortably around the child’s head. You may need to staple two strips together for older children. Staple the ends of the strips together so that it can comfortably fit around the child’s head without being too tight or too loose. Following on from the first book, Podkin and Paz are now hiding in Dark Hollow warren, deep in the forest of Grimheart. The Gorm have spread even further, and they must undertake a deadly mission into the heart of their territory to find a magical weapon that might give them an edge in the coming battle. With the help of a grown-up, use hot glue, staples or safety pins to attach these to one side of the pillow case.

Uki’s tale continues! Along with his friends, Jori, Kree and Mooka, Uki must venture into the mysterious Fenlands to capture Charice– the spirit of plagues and diseases– before she can spread her poison everywhere. Illustration by David Wyatt Uki & The GhostburrowIf you’re going to be a bona fide bird, you’ll need eyes and beak. Cut out two circles and a triangle from the white paper/card. Make sure there’s a grown-up present to assist younger children! Use our tie template and combine with a white shirt, and grey trousers or skirt. Patch from The Accidental Stowaway: Now draw a smaller circle in the centre of each of your cardboard circles – it should be about a third of the size of your outer ring. The first book in the series follows the adventures of Podkin, his sister Paz and their baby brother Pook. Attach the eyes on either side of the hood of the hoodie with some hot glue, safety pins or staples. An adult will need to help with this part – be careful!

If you would like to add some DIY into the outfit, why not create Mia’s magical staff? You will need: A long piece of cardboard, purple paint and glitter. For fans of the brilliantly funny series by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey. Dress up like Dave with our handy printable mask and complete the look by putting your arm in a sling! You can staple, hot glue or safety pin the ear to your red fabric to keep it in place. Make sure there’s an adult present to help! If you’re feeling ambitious, you can create a cape of feathers! You will need: an old pillow case, grey and white paper/card and a hot glue gun, safety pins or staples. Tie the red fabric around the child’s head and estimate where you would like to place the brown paper ear.

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Uki, a young rabbit cast out from his tribe, must take on an impossible quest to capture a series of evil spirits before they unleash havoc across the Five Realms. Illustration by David Wyatt Uki & The Swamp Spirit

When you’ve wrapped your template in wool, it’s time to cut along the outer edge – push the scissors between the two cardboard rings to help guide you. Get a grown-up to help with the sharp scissors! Use our mask template to create the look of Ted Hughes and Chris Mould‘s The Iron Man. Complete the look by wearing grey or even create an iron body out of cardboard boxes.

Next, attach the yellow triangle underneath the top centre of the hood for the beak. It should poke out over your forehead when you put the hood up. After capturing Charice, there is only one spirit left for Uki to find: Mortix, the most dangerous of all. With his friends Jori, Cole and Kree, Uki heads to Eisenfell – the greatest city in Hulstland – only to find that Mortix has taken control of Emperor Ash and is plotting to conquer the whole Five Realms with her terrifying army.