East Wemyss Primary School pupils Mason, 3, and Olivia, 6, Beveridge, took part in dressing up as their favourite characters for World Book Day yesterday – the Gruffalo and Super Worm. Picture by Kim Cessford.

With many children still learning at home due to the pandemic, schools across Tayside and Fife have found different ways to mark this year’s World Book Day..

The annual event, which aims to celebrate books and reading, often sees pupils dress up as their favourite characters and take part in activities throughout the day.

And despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, pupils in Courier Country have been more involved than ever.

We took a look at what schools across the regions were doing to celebrate the day in Covid times – which has included everything from the Masked Reader to wild reading.

In Dundee, pupils at Rosebank Primary School were kept guessing as teachers took part in the Masked Reader competition.

Based on the popular ITV show, The Masked Singer, pupils were tasked with guessing which of their teachers was reading a book whilst cleverly disguised.

Several videos were uploaded to social media for pupils to guess, with disguises including lions, pandas and bears used to keep the teachers’ identities secret.

Teachers at the school also donned costumes for the day, with popular characters such as Snow White and Harry Potter all making an appearance.

Pupils at Victoria Park Primary School also took part in a guessing game, with class P3/2 tasked with using their listening and language skills to guess which character they had been assigned.

The class also started their day with a ‘selfie’, with pictures posted on social media showing pupils getting creative with their designs.

In Angus, not just younger pupils got involved in World Book Day this year as older children at Brechin High School found innovative places to read.

Their ‘wild reading’ challenge saw pupils at the lockdown hub use outdoor spaces to enjoy a good book – with climbing frames, trailers and even a rubbish bin being put to use.

Teachers at the school also got involved in the celebrations, sharing their favourite reads from past and present.

Rector Archie Bathgate chose Scottish classic Treasure Island as his favourite book, with other classics including The Citadel and Angela’s Ashes also making the cut.

In Perth and Kinross, one activity which pupils in class P3/4 at Forgandenny Primary School got involved with was showing off their favourite picture books to each other.

The youngsters also tuned into the Author and Illustrator Academy – an online platform set up by World Book Day – which inspired them to create their own bookmarks with kind messages.

Viewlands Primary also made sure that those who are still learning at home were not missing out on this year’s World Book Day, with P4 pupils building makeshift reading dens to enjoy their books in.

And in Fife, pupils and teachers at East Wemyss Primary School, in Kirkcaldy, got into the spirit of the day by dressing up as their fictional characters.

Classic characters such as Harry Potter and the Oompa Loompas were all on display as the children and staff went all out to celebrate the day.

Brother and sister duo, Mason and Olivia Beveridge showed off their love for the Gruffalo series, with Mason dressing up as the title character and Olivia opting to dress as ‘Superworm’ – a ‘wiggly, squiggly superhero’.

“Teachers reading books whilst cleverly disguised as lions, pandas and bears