World Book Day returns on Thursday, March 2, and this year children are also being asked to dress up as a London bus or their favourite tourist attraction.

In a bid to encourage pupils in schools to engage more with both reading and exploring the capital, the fancy dress competition has been launched by the London Meets Its Children educational project.

There will be an array of prizes for the top four best dressed children or group of children, including the chance to win a flight on the Coca-Cola London Eye and bring their class with them, a guided bus trip on The Classic Tour and a visit to KidZania London for an entire class and win thirty Beatrice and the London Bus Maps.

The competition is based on the characters of the Beatrice And The London Bus children’s book series, written by journalist and entrepreneur Francesca Lombardo, who also curated the educational project.

She says: “To see children engaging with the city through my books and events is inspiring and a dream come true.

“The competitions are a key educational resource of London meets its children, a London-themed educational project which uses Beatrice And The London Bus book series and its spin off as a resource to engage children with the capital and with London heritage.”

To enter the competition, send pictures to competitions@dailyfairytales.co.uk by Friday, March 10 and winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 22.

To see more of the characters or to find out how to make the costumes, visit: beatriceandthelondonbus.co.uk