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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

World book day - superheroes, disney princesses and film characters

151 replies

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 03/03/2016 09:53

We'll just start by me acknowledging that i know i abu!! I also know it has been done before, probably on this day last year and the year before that, and the year before that

But its annoying me, so there. It probably wouldnt bug me if only a few did it, but it seems to be nearly everyone

Its not an effort thing, the costumes i have used required zero effort, nor is it only cost when there are people in books who wear normal clothes!! And if its that people want to pick up a costume in asda, they have book related costumes there!

So, unanimous iabu thread?

OP posts:

Goldenhandshake · 03/03/2016 11:54

This doesn't seem as much as an issue in DD's school, I've seen horrid henry, oompa loompas, Matilda, Verucca Salt, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Where's Wally to name a few.

However I don't see the issue with people using costumes their children already have, as pp have pointed out, there are comic books for every superhero, and books on all of the Disney princesses. DD has in previous years been Rapunzel and Maleficent, both are book characters and were so long before Disney came along.

BabyDubsEverywhere · 03/03/2016 11:55

I sent mine in wearing character onesies - because I really cba with dressing up every five minutes for one thing or another!! My DS1 hates reading though is quite good at it, he is superman. DD1 loves reading but isn't very good at it - she's a minion. They don't have favourite book characters, or even favourite books tbh, though we have hundreds.

It was okay when they were smaller and enjoyed dressing up at home, it was worth buying the costumes then, now they are 7 and 8, they don't play dress up anymore and I refuse to waste money on the outfits - and I don't have time to make them... especially when they couldn't think of anything better than a film character anyway.

PaulAnkaTheDog · 03/03/2016 11:56

Dallas I thinks that's really awful actually, wouldn't make me smile. A six year old getting a row because of her mother's stupidity.

mellowfartfulness · 03/03/2016 11:59

It's not judgeworthy, it really isn't. I mean I'm sure it would be lovely to see a huge variety of costumes that showed how all the kids were passionate readers and had chosen their favourite from a well stocked bookshelf blah blah blah. Realistically though, a lot of them probably do love a Disney spin-off book best of all. It's a book, why would they judge it differently from any other book they've seen? And how awful would it be to tell a little child that their favourite book is, what, not good enough? Not clever enough? They're picking characters they like and enjoying stories, which is the point. It's not supposed to be a test or some sort of intellectual status symbol.

And some people don't have the time or energy or money to come up with something they didn't already have in the house or that wouldn't get worn again, and that's fine too.

I had the opposite problem in reception - DD had got a book with the story of The Magic Flute, and wanted to go as fucking Papagena. I am in no way handy enough to make a costume out of feathers so it didn't happen but was also cringing at how massively pretentious I would look at the school gate. Luckily she changed her mind anyway.

PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 12:00

I'd really love to know why teachers think that getting children to dress up is a good idea. I should admit that mine never did.

Not all teachers (including me) think there's any value in dressing up. There's a thread running in primary education where the head has banned dressing up.

It should be about celebrating reading. There are loads of ways of doing this that don't involve dressing up. Especially since these costumes events seem to some around every other week,

vickibee · 03/03/2016 12:01

I also dislike WBD because of the pressure it puts parents under to do something original. I saw someone as Christian Gray in the palyground this morning? My Ds refused to get dressed up in fancy dress so went as horrid henry in Jeans and a stripe T-shirt and messy hair. (no diiferent to normal then) I have failed :(

PaulAnkaTheDog · 03/03/2016 12:03

I saw someone as Christian Gray in the palyground this morning?

Surely you were mistaken?

ZootSuit · 03/03/2016 12:03

Hmmm, I do actually kind of agree with you OP. DD went in as Lily Bobtail from Peter Rabbit and all it needed was a pink dress (she already had), rabbit ears (pound shop Easter range!) and a bit of face paint.

I think a lot of kids think that any character on TV or in a film is automatically a book character and it's probably easier for parents to say yes if they have that costume already.

I was a bit sad to see 6 Elsa's this morning, and a lot of Toy Story characters - I LOVE Toy Story but clearly not a book! But then again I was a bookworm child so I think my view is influenced by that too.

PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 12:06

There was a Daily Mail sad face story last year featuring a boy dressed as Christian Grey.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2982244/Boy-11-excluded-school-turning-World-Book-Day-dressed-character-erotic-novel-Fifty-Shades-Grey.html

Haudyerwheesht · 03/03/2016 12:08

I understand what you mean OP. I think it's more the idea that people just think 'oh just wear that' rather than discussing it which might not be true of everyone but is of some. However iabu in thinking there's anything wrong with that.

Dd is dressed as a tiger today because her favourite book is tiger who came to tea but tbh if she'd asked to be a princess I'd have let her so am a hypocrite!! She was only girl I saw who wasn't in a Disney dress today though so am hoping she isn't bothered.

exLtEveDallas · 03/03/2016 12:11

PaulAnka, I don't actually think the child was 'told off' - for all the mothers ranting it sounds like the HT just said "Have you read to book or watched the film". Mum is just on one.

PaulAnkaTheDog · 03/03/2016 12:12

Purple wasn't that a high school though? I highly doubt that a kid in a primary school was, hence why I thought Vicki was mistaken.

Totally inappropriate even in a high school though! Weird as fuck.

PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 12:13

It was-the boy was eleven. I wondered if ex had heard the story and got mixed up.

PaulAnkaTheDog · 03/03/2016 12:14

Ah apologies Dallas. I'll never understand why people rant about things like that on Facebook. You're in the wrong, don't also make an ass of yourself! I bet there's at least one friend saying it's totally unfair though?

fredfredgeorgejnrsnr · 03/03/2016 12:16

It's interesting that so many people talk about the "spirit of world book day", an event which is extremely modern, is celebrated on the "wrong" day in the UK, and the people who actually run it (ie UNESCO not the UK charity) are really not about celebrating the book, but about access to reading and creating - highlighting the importance of access to words but also to protecting authors who create words. The full name has "copyright" in it.

The spirit of a tradition that is only 20 years old, is of course difficult to define anyway, had a quick search, couldn't see much on the history of it at all really. In 2006 there was a post where the school class had "3 peter pans", I'm sure it was the play or the disney film not the book that they came from, but there was no criticism in the post suggesting that Peter Pan was not an appropriate dress up character.

So YABU.

Mind you DD in Reception went as an obscure, age inappropriate according to commonsensemedia character that she pretty much made herself, so I could've just felt nicely mumsnet smug that all the other girls were princesses, but I really don't think it's important. A costume is a costume and the passion of the child is more important than what it is.

exLtEveDallas · 03/03/2016 12:18

Yeah, loads of "aww Hun" "that's out of order" posts

My cousin (which is why I saw the post) commented "But, to be fair XXX hasn't actually read HP has she, YYY [her kid] doesn't even know who he is" and the ranting mum has posted "That's not the point"

PaulAnkaTheDog · 03/03/2016 12:21

Haha! I do hope your cousin responded with 'But that's precisely the point!'

vickibee · 03/03/2016 12:29

No not mistaken he was holding the fifty shades book and his mum was proud as punch (year 6)

Littleoddfeet · 03/03/2016 12:34

My DS went in as Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars film - I did (loosely) try to discourage but we had the outfit in the dressing up box and he was adamant. (an amazon search also showed that Kylo Ren is tenuously featured in some reading material).

Stood in the playground, another Mum marched up to me and said 'I would not let my DS come in as Kylo Ren as he is not a book character'. What was her DS dressed up as? That's right, a superhero!!

I find the whole thing a bit pointless tbh but DS was happy as larry about dressing up so meh!

HeteronormativeHaybales · 03/03/2016 12:55

My older two (dd's a baby and so just at the Baby'a Catalogue stage) have had a hugely book-heavy upbringing, raised on a diet of Katie Morag, Dr Seuss, the Ahlbergs, Winnie-the-Pooh, Mrs Pepperpot, Paddington, the Wombles, and, as they grew, Dahl, Swallows and Amazons (all 12 of them!), Pratchett, the Phantom Tollbooth, Charlotte's Web, etc etc, the whole middle-class reading list. What do they read obsessively, again and again and again? Donald Duck comic books. So if we had WBD dressing up in this country they might end up at school as Disney characters, yes, although I'd much rather put them in ordinary-ish clothes or pyjamas as Emil (and the Detectives) or Tom of Midnight Garden fame - zero effort, plenty of kudos. But I expect I'd go with their wishes and be judged.

whatsthatcomingoverthehill · 03/03/2016 13:11

Yes, Disney characters and superheroes are in some books. But it's when nearly everyone goes as a princess/superhero goes to show how it's really very little to do with books and much more to do with kids dressing up in their favourite costumes. If it was just a few in each class then it's not the same. I'm not a fan really of the dressing up thing, because it tends to be a load of work for the parents to go as something more original. But if kids did go as something other than princess/superhero I could see how it could be a starting point for the teacher to talk about their favourite books etc. I think a teacher would be able to make a lot more out of a boy dressed as Danny, the champion of the world (i.e. normal clothes) than another spiderman.

ChimpyChops · 03/03/2016 13:16

I did bite my tongue in the fancy dress shop when we were in getting some Harry Potter glasses (theme for us was books adapted to film), a child wanted to be Willy Wonka, dad was arguing saying that the costume had to be from a book, not a film. I wanted to say 'oh but that's ok, it was originally a book' (politely, not in a patronising way) but I didn't, I didn't want an argument and it would have sounded patronising any way I put it.

They bought a Power Ranger outfit.

Original poster

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 03/03/2016 14:08

Ah yes, power ranger books...

OP posts:

x2boys · 03/03/2016 15:49

ds1 went as willy wonka last yr i thought he looked fab and he certainly stood out amongst all the harry potters and elsa,s but he wasent impressed so his school are dressing up tommorow i have been all over town today and most shopps have sold out so i eventually managed to get him a darth vader top and cape hes far happier hey ho ds2 goes to a special school he went as spider man as we already have the costume and i,m skint and he doesnt care what he wears!

sashh · 03/03/2016 16:23

Do most schools do anything more that actually involves celebrating actual books?

Er Ithink you are missing the point.

WBD is about getting children reading. They are supposed to dress as a character from a book they have read

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