Can you sort the animals in the story using Venn or Carroll diagrams? Which ones have two legs? Which have four legs? Which ones have a beak or a nose? How many other ways could you sort them?

Love it or hate it, World Book Day has become a firm favourite dress-up day for children. We’ve collected oodles of some of the best ideas around for you. Take a peek at our follower submissions and prepare for the urge to loot the airing cupboard of sheets and the craft cupboard of glue and scissors as you endeavour to create your own masterpieces and creations from your children’s favourite books. One of Roald Dahl’s many famous books, your child can dress up as The Enormous Crocodile with this crocodile onesie. This greedy crocodile has the intention of eating children in the nearby town but is stopped by fellow forest mates.

Gather lots of leaves and try to arrange them to make a picture. Look at the work of Andy Goldsworthy to find more examples of how nature can be used to make art. Use these as inspiration to make your own. Your little one might love the three movies, but did they know it started off as a book? Cressida Cowell wrote 12 How to Train your Dragon books, and created The Hidden World. Your little one can dress like any of these characters and practice their escape of the hidden world. Look at the adjectives that are used to describe each animal. How many other adjectives can you think of to describe them? Use the animal posters (see Resources below) and write adjectives on them.

I’m sure you’ll agree that there are some truly wonderful ideas here. We would like to thank our Family Days Tried & Tested community for allowing us to use their fabulous photos! Look at the vocabulary used to describe how the thieves are planning to steal the cow. What other direction words can you think of? Remember to explore our teaching ideas for the sequel, What the Ladybird Heard Next. Teaching Ideas and Resources: English This fantastic book will inspire little girls everywhere whilst teaching them very important moments in history. It’s a very unique world book day costume idea, and your little one can dress up as whoever they choose. Why not try a Victorian Suffragette? Or a DIY Frida Kahlo or Coco Chanel? There’s just so many influential women to choose from!Can you make up a song which includes lots of examples of animal sounds? Get some ideas by watching this performance of a song by the author and her husband: An old classic that often gets forgotten about, why not dress your child up as some of the world’s most loved characters from Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows. Choose from Badger, Ratty, Mole or Mr Toad and have a jolly old time this World Book Day. It’s certainly a more unique idea than the hundreds of Willy Wonka’s and Mary Poppins that will enter the classroom! Create a simple model of the farm and use some programmable robots (e.g. roamer, remote control vehicles) to move around it. Could you decorate the roamer so that it looks like the ladybird?

Draw a map of the farm on the coordinate grid (see Resources below) and use the coordinates / compass directions to show somebody how to move from one place to another. Try to find where different farms are in your local area. What crops do they grow? What animals do they look after? The ladybird whispered into each animal’s ear. Think of other words that describe how we can communicate with others (e.g. shouted, screamed, hissed, chattered). The thieves ‘crept’ into the farm. Think of synonyms which describe how people can move. Can you demonstrate each one (e.g. sprint, crawled, paced).

Awesome World Book Day Costume Ideas

Dress your little one up in this cute unisex Ladybird costume for World Book Day, it’s super easy, simple and effective. This Julia Donaldson book tells the a tale of a farm full of animals that utilise their voices to stop thieves robbing the prize cow. Perfect for bedtime reading during early years. Lydia Monks adds: “I was so thrilled to get to go on holiday with the little ladybird! Working on this new story feels like spending time with an old favourite. We meet some new friends and visit some new places. A perfect holiday treat!” Write a character profile about Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len? what kind of people are they? Where do they live? Demon Dentist by David Walliams features a boy named Alfie with a fear of the dentist. Alfie needs to face his fears when a new evil dentist, Miss Root, comes to town. Perfect for girls, your little one can wear our Dentist costume to school. Add a little face paint, makeup and a jumbo syringe and they’re ready for World Book Day!

Think of some speech bubbles to show what the ladybird might be thinking at each point in the story. What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday has a cacophony of noisy new zoo-animal characters, a cameo from the Queen and her corgis, and, of course, a cunning plan from thieves Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh. It’s a pity for them that a certain crime-busting ladybird is on holiday in the very same city … and she’s got a good idea that will ensure the dastardly pair won’t get away with it! This new story is destined to become yet another glittery classic in the Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks collection. Julia Donaldson says: “In the last Ladybird story, I had ruled out the thieves returning to the farm, so I needed a different setting this time around. I wrote What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday while on a book tour in South Africa and the animals I saw there gave me the idea for the new adventure. I was excited when I discovered that the Royal corgis are called Holly and Willow, as I had already written a lot of the story and needed rhymes for ‘golly’ and ‘pillow’ - it seemed meant to be!” Think about what stealing means and why it is wrong. How would you feel if someone stole from you? What happens to people who steal things from others?

Look at the pictures of the farm at the start and end of the book. Can you describe how they are different? Think about the different sounds that animals make. How do we write these (e.g. miaow, purr)? Can you think of any other examples of onomatopoeia? Are there any other examples in the story?