Best World Book Day ideas 2020

Introduce the kids to new books with £1 World Book Day tokens

When World Book Day comes around, there's no excuse not to read: all primary school age children get given a £1 World Book Day token, which can be exchanged for a new World Book Day book for free, or used to knock £1 off of any full-price book they'd like.

Do your costume prep in advance

The most important thing to remember about World Book Day is that your child, whether aged three or 10, is going to expect to have a World Book Day costume, and they're going to want it to be good – or at least resemble the book character they like.

There are a few ways to go about this: make something, buy something, pull whatever fancy dress costume you have out of the wardrobe (there will be lots of Elsas and PJ Masks among the younger crew, we predict – there always are) or manically scramble around your house looking for accessories that you can pull together into a costume. For example, the ever-popular Harry Potter characters really just need school uniform if you're in a pinch, or you can just make some glasses out of cardboard and pair with the Hogwarts scarf your kid begged you to buy them at Christmas. If you have a girl Harry Potter obsessive, encourage Luna Lovegood as an alternative to the Hermiones and Ginnys: her wonderfully bonkers style means she can wear pretty much anything – no DIY required.

Other books you can't go wrong with: anything by Julia Donaldson (an inspired idea might be to turn a cardboard box into a wearable boat for Jack and the Flumflum Tree fans), as well as Roald Dahl and David Walliams – Gangsta Granny and Awful Auntie are especially fun and work well for boys and girls.

Give the gift of reading with the National Theatre

Child's birthday coming up? We may have the perfect present: National Theatre has launched a subscription service, from £65 for six months, with a beautifully packaged surprise book arriving every month. There's also a Play in the Post and Fiction subscription box for parents. For kids 4-8.

Get them a subscription to One Third Stories, Parrot Street or Bookabees

While we're on the topic of book subscriptions for kiddos, we think they're a brilliant way to freshen up your book collection (one can only read The Very Hungry Caterpillar so many times) and get the kids excited about reading – nothing beats getting a package in the post with their name on it.

One Third Stories is another subscription box you should have on your gift list: it ticks the reading plus learning an extra language box, with stories that begin in English and finish in French or Spanish, as well as activity packs for kids to enjoy. Designed for children 4-9, each pack starts at a monthly £17.99.

Parrot Street sends kids a chapter book to keep each month, plus activity sheets and book-club questions to engage children. Prices start at £12 a month, and it's a smart choice for families with a couple of kids who are reading independently. Siblings can be added for an extra £4 a month (they'll get everything except another copy of the book, which can be shared between them).

You should also consider Bookabees, from £3.49 a month, which is somewhere between a lending library and bookstore (you can borrow books and return them with the Flex plan, to eliminate clutter), and there is a bespoke element where books are chosen based on a child's age and interests.

Explore London's loveliest children's bookshops

London has an amazing array of children's bookshops, that are more than just spaces to buy books. Go for an author talk, do some weekend crafts, attend a storytelling session... and watch their imaginations come alive.

Use World Book Day as an excuse to reignite your own passion for reading

Exhausted parents often struggle to find the time, mental space or concentration span to read books for themselves, which is a real shame, especially if reading was a beloved pastime pre-children.

The School of Life runs a Bibliotherapy clinic; book in for a session and you'll chat about your reading preferences and interests, and afterwards you'll be 'prescribed' books to suit your taste and reawaken your literary interests. It's a gentle way of getting back into reading by starting with books you're likely going to enjoy. Also, start listening to audio books when in the car to catch up on all the recent bestsellers you've missed out on.

If you're after a new discovery that is sure to lead to many others, we'll let you in on a secret: one of London's most delightful bookshops, Persephone Books, which specialises in forgotten or neglected female authors from the 20th century, is tucked away on Lamb's Conduit Street. First book to choose?The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Written in 1924, this book was well ahead of its time in describing the struggle for both sexes between domestic life and work.