Only on one day a year could a classroom be filled with ninjas, pirates, powerful sorcerers and a rather hungry piranha.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Although empty of its usual audience, Wagga Christian College staged its annual book week event on Friday, with students in the junior school parading their costumes to their peers.
Under normal conditions, the auditorium would be filled with family members as well.
A particular favourite among the students was Jack Leahy's bright green piranha costume.
The seven-year-old and his mother had spent a week constructing the look, to mirror the character from one of Jack's favourite books, Aaron Blabey's Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas.
"We only finished making it [on Thursday] night," Jack said.
"There are three layers of paper that we painted and it had to dry, then mum cut the mouth out and put the teeth in."
Classmate Toby Burgun voted Jack's costume as his standout favourite, along with his other friend Poppy, who came dressed as "a ninja with nunchucks and two swords".
Toby was dressed as Jafar, the nefarious sorcerer from Aladdin. He even came complete with sidekick and pet Iago taped to his shoulder.
"I liked the detail [on Jafar]," said Toby when asked why he had chosen to dress as the villain.
"My parrot came from Spotlight but I didn't know it'd be so fluffy. I can't run with it on and in class, I have to keep propping it up so it doesn't fall.
"I forget it's there then I look at it again and remember."
The national theme for this year's book week was 'curious creatures, wild minds', and the commitment to achieving the look for some students meant a very early wake-up.
Phoebe Coleman, 8, who came dressed as a LOL Doll faced the sunrise to complete her look, while Jed Ward took some solid time to transform into Darth Maul on Friday morning. The paint, he said, was "a little itchy" and not something he would be able to keep on all day.
"Mum said I could take it off at lunchtime," the student said.