IT'S nearly time to set aside mobile phones and tablets and embrace the joy of reading real books.
World Book Day is taking over Glasgow schools and nurseries on March 2 with pupils urged to dress as their favourite literary hero or heroine.
The celebration is marked in 100 countries around the world and there will be dozens of special activities to show how reading can be life-changing.
One of the most well known of these is to have children go to school dressed as their favourite character.
Competition is fierce for youngsters to be wearing the best costume.
And with the internet the pressure is even more intense for a dress-up idea that will go viral, such as the boy last year who dressed as Roald Dahl’s BFG.
1. For parents who want to make their own costumes but lack the craft skills, how about Stick Man from Julia Donaldson's book about a man who happens to be a stick.?
Dress your child in brown leggings and a t-shirt then stick green cardboard leaves all over them.
2. Coloured cardboard will also come in handy when making a Little Miss or Mister Man costume.
It's easy to, again, dress your child in matching leggings and t-shirt then pin a cardboard rendering of your favourite character on to the t-shirt.
3. A blue duffel coat, wellington boots, a red hat and suitcase will make a fine Paddington Bear.
Add a jar of marmalade and a label saying, "Please Look After This Bear."
4. A plain white t shirt and white leggings can easily be turned into a brightly-coloured Elmer the Elephant using multi-coloured fabric pens.
For extra creative points, add a cardboard mask.
5. No World Book Day is complete without a Roald Dahl character.
Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an easy costume to tackle - purple clothes, purple face paint and nail polish plus painted purple plimsoles. Hair can be spray painted purple too and a couple of cushions will give a round shape to finish the costume.
On World Book Day children are also given the chance to buy a book of their own on the day.
Each school pupil from five to 18, is given a £1 token they can redeem against paperbacks or audio books.
Fun fact: World Book Day is on March 2 in the UK and Ireland but in other countries it is marked on April 23 - the day William Shakespeare’s birth.
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