World Book day character ideas from the top 20 children's books of all time (2024)

Children globally will be gearing up for World Book Day on Thursday (March 7), all excited to dress up as their favourite character to celebrate the beloved event. An international celebration of books and reading by UNESCO, World Book Day is earmarked annually by more than 100 countries - and gives people the opportunity to dust off and dive into their favourite stories.

Many schools will hold dress-down days this Thursday, allowing pupils to reimagine themselves as their favourite characters for the day - so expect to see plenty of Hungry Caterpillars, Horrid Henrys, Fantastic Mr Foxes, Lions, Witches and even Wardrobes when you make the school run.

And while many parents and children will have their outfits selected and pressed for the event, other last minute lookers may be strapped for inspiration. With plenty of choice out there in terms of brilliant children's' reads, there's no need to panic - and we've put together a list of ideas from the 20 best kids' books of all time according to Penguin.

• Read more: 10 cheap last-minute World Book Day costumes you can get from Amazon this week
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So if you're struggling for what to dress your youngster in this Thursday, check out our list below for some truly show-stopping costume ideas.

1) Winnie the Pooh

Synopsis: "Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, but thanks to his friends Piglet, Eeyore and, of course, Christopher Robin, he’s never far from an adventure. In this much-loved classic story collection Pooh gets into a tight place, nearly catches a Woozle and heads off on an ‘expotition’ to the North Pole with the other animals."

Character inspiration: Winnie, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Christopher Robin

If you haven't read Winnie the Pooh, you can pick it up from Amazon for £9.19.

2) Mrs Pepperpot

Synopsis: "Mrs Pepperpot has a problem - a huge problem - she shrinks! And when she shrinks she finds herself in all sorts of trouble...Poor Mrs Pepperpot has shrunk again and she's set her heart on going to the bazaar. But with a clever disguise and a cunning plan, she's soon dancing rings around the ladies at the fair!"

Character inspiration: Mrs Pepperpot

If you haven't read Mrs Pepperpot, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.35.

3) A Traveller in Time

Synopsis: "A TRAVELLER IN TIME by Alison Uttley is a much-loved time-slip novel which vividly captures life at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots. Penelope lives in the 20th Century, and it is only when she visits Thackers, a remote, ancient farmhouse, that she finds herself travelling back in time to join the lives of the Babington family, and watching helplessly as tragic events bring danger to her friends and the downfall of their heroine Mary, Queen of Scots, whom they are seeking to rescue."

Character inspiration: Penelope, Ian, Alison, Aunt Tissie, Uncle Barnabus

If you haven't read A Traveller in Time, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.35.

4) Black Beauty

Synopsis: "Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, duch*ess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty.

"Bravely he works as hard as he can, suffering at the hands of men who treat animals badly. But Black Beauty has an unbreakable spirit and will, and is determined to survive..."

Character inspiration: Black Beauty, Ginger, Merrylegs, Squire Gordon, James Howard, Joe Green

If you haven't read Black Beauty, you can pick it up from Amazon for £2.49.

5) The Little Prince

Synopsis: "After crash-landing in the Sahara Desert, a pilot encounters a little prince who is visiting Earth from his own planet. Their strange and moving meeting illuminates for the aviator many of life's universal truths, as he comes to learn what it means to be human from a child who is not."

Character inspiration: The Little Prince, The Turkish Astronomer, The Three-Petaled Flower, The Vain Man, The Railway Switchman

If you haven't read The Little Prince, you can pick it up from Amazon for £2.98.

6) The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Synopsis: "From the strange case of 'The Red-Headed League' to the extraordinary tale of 'The Engineer's Thumb', Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr Watson grapple with treachery, murder, and ingenious crimes of all kinds. But no case is too challenging for the immortal detective's unique power of deduction."

Character inspiration: Sherlock Holmes, Watson

If you haven't read The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.09.

7) Swallows and Amazons

Synopsis: "Four children (the Swallows) on holiday in the Lake District sail on their own to an island and start a war with rival children (the Amazons). In the meantime, a mysterious man on a houseboat accuses them of a crime they did not commit."

Character inspiration: Nancy, Dorotea, Peggy, Dick

If you haven't read , you can pick up the 12-book set from Amazon for £39.99.

8) A Kestrel for a Knave

Synopsis: "Life is tough and cheerless for Billy Casper, a troubled teenager growing up in the small Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley. Treated as a failure at school, and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can, discovering through her the passion missing from his life.

"Barry Hines's acclaimed novel continues to reach new generations of teenagers and adults with its powerful story of survival in a tough, joyless world."

Character inspiration: Kes, Billy, Jud, Mr Farthing

If you haven't read A Kestrel for a Knave, you can pick it up from Amazon for £9.05.

9) The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

Synopsis: "Poor Jemima. All she wants to do is lay her eggs in peace, and be allowed to hatch them herself. At last she flies off and finds the perfect place. Little does the silly duck realise that the charming gentleman who has lent her his woodshed is busily planning a delicious meal of...roast duck!"

Character inspiration: Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Peter Rabbit, Bejnamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin

If you haven't read The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, you can pick it up from Amazon for £5.99.

10) Grimms' Fairy Tales

Synopsis: "Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales collects more than two hundred tales set down by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early decades of the nineteenth century, among them some of the best-loved and most famous fairy tales in all literature: 'Little Red Riding Hood,' 'Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs', 'Cinderella', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Rapunzel', 'Rumpelstiltskin' and 'Tom Thumb'.

"Derived from folk tales that had been part of the oral storytelling tradition for centuries, these stories are acknowledged as literary landmarks that transcend their time and culture."

Character inspiration: Hansel Grimm, Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Queen Clementianna, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood

If you haven't read Grimms' Fairy Tales, you can pick up the complete collection from Amazon for £26.98.

11) Eragon

Synopsis: "When poor farm boy Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it's a lucky discovery. Perhaps, he will be able to buy his family food for the winter. But, when a baby dragon hatches out of the stone, Eragon realises he's stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

"His simple life is shattered, and he's thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. To navigate this dark terrain, and survive his cruel king's evil ways, he must take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders. Will he succeed? The fate of the Empire rests in his hands..."

Character inspiration: Brom, Eragon, Murtagh, Saphira, Arya

If you haven't read Eragon, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.75.

12) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Synopsis: "Four adventurous siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie – step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change...and a great sacrifice."

Character inspiration: Aslan, Jadis the White Witch, Edmund, Lucy, Susan, Eustace, Maugrim

If you haven't read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.15.

13) A Christmas Carol

Synopsis: "Charles Dickens's tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, who is haunted by three spirits and learns the true meaning of Christmas has had, along with Dickens's other Christmas writings, a lasting and significant influence upon our ideas about the season as a time for celebration, charity and memory.

Character inspiration: Scrooge, Bob Crachit, Tiny Tim, Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Yet To Come

If you haven't read A Christmas Carol, you can pick it up from Amazon for £7.09.

14) The Enchanted Castle

Synopsis: "When Jerry, Jimmy and Cathy discover a tunnel that leads to a castle, they pretend that it is enchanted. But when they discover a Sleeping Princess at the centre of a maze, astonishing things begin to happen. Amongst a horde of jewels they discover a ring that grants wishes.

"But wishes granted are not always wishes wanted, so the children find themselves grappling with invisibility, dinosaurs, a ghost and the fearsome Ugli-Wuglies before it is all resolved."

Character inspiration: Jerry, Jimmy, Kathy

If you haven't read The Enchanted Castle, you can pick it up from Amazon for £3.99.

15) The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Synopsis: "Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a perennial favourite with children and adults alike. Its imaginative illustration and clever cut-out detail charts the progress of a very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through the week."

Character inspiration: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

If you haven't read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you can pick it up from Amazon for £4.

16) Robinson Crusoe

Synopsis: "Enjoy an unforgettable journey with Robinson Crusoe as he bravely navigates his way through the unknown."

Character inspiration: Robinson Crusoe, Friday, Xury, The Portuguese Captain

If you haven't read Robinson Crusoe, you can pick it up from Amazon for £9.99.

17) Elmer

Synopsis: "Elmer is different. Elmer is patchwork. The grey elephants all love him, but he soon starts to wonder what it would be like to be just the same as them..."

Character inspiration: Elmer the Patchwork Elephant

If you haven't read Elmer, you can pick it up from Amazon for £4.00.

18) The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Synopsis: "Cruella de Vil is enough to frighten the spots off a Dalmatian puppy. So when she steals a whole family of them, the puppies’ parents, Pongo and Missus, lose no time in mounting a daring rescue mission. Will they be in time to thwart Cruella’s evil scheme, or have they bitten off more than they can chew?"

Character inspiration: Cruella DeVille, Nanny, Anita, Roger, A Dalmatian

If you haven't read The Hundred and One Dalmatians, you can pick it up from Amazon for £8.27.

19) Five Children and It

Synopsis: "The story follows the five children Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the 'Lamb' and their adventures resulting from the discovery of a sand-fairy that has the ability to grant wishes."

Character inspiration: Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, Hilary, The Psammead

If you haven't read Five Children and It, you can pick it up from Amazon for £10.99.

20) Charlotte's Web

Synopsis: "On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a thing of beauty. Even Lurvy, who wasn't particularly interested in beauty, noticed the web when he came with the pig's breakfast. And then he took another look and he saw something that made him set his pail down. There, in the centre of the web, neatly woven in block letters, was a message. It said: SOME PIG!"

Character inspiration: Charlotte, Wilbur, Fern, Templeton, Goose, Sheep

If you haven't read Charlotte's Web, you can pick it up from Amazon for £3.72.

And Amazon aren't the only book retailer on the market either - why not check out the likes of WHSmiths, Waterstones or Foyles to compare the market if you fancy picking any of these up.