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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:

waitingforsomething · 03/03/2016 16:27

I do get what you mean but ive put dd in a princess dress twice this week. That is because her pre-school did world book week (!) and after I had made an effort for outfits tues and weds, today I have lost my mojo and the cinderella dress was worn!

Original poster

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 03/03/2016 16:50

Book week?! That is taking the piss, i'd be doing princess dresses too in that case!

OP posts:

AKissACuddleAndACheekyFinger · 03/03/2016 17:09

OP I agree that you are being totally unreasonable....but I'm with you! There, I've said it!! It annoys me too even though it's not reasonable. And I'm going to thrown Where's Wally in there for good measure. It seems to be a fail safe option....encourage reading by dressing as a character from a book that has no words?!

IABVVU!!!

Original poster

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 03/03/2016 17:16

Well, i may be unreasonable, but at least im not alone in it

OP posts:

Sallystyle · 03/03/2016 17:22

There were loads of Elsa costumes.

My dd was Merida because the dress still fits her, I have no idea if she is in a book and neither do I care. There were two other Merida's in her year.

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 03/03/2016 17:40

Superheroes come from comic books. Comic books encourage reading and are especially great at getting kids, who don't like reading, to read. I buy my nephew collected editions of his favourites every year and he loves them.

I do think there is quite a bit of snobbery around comic books/graphic novels and I encourage people to break through that snobbery and try some out.

hazeyjane · 03/03/2016 17:48

I was just about to point out that Spiderman etc started in books and bloody good books too! - we have a whole bookcase of Spiderman, Batman, Avengers, Xmen etc .....all around a long time before the films

AKissACuddleAndACheekyFinger · 03/03/2016 18:09

But Where's Wally?? This is the one I can't consolidate. There are no words?! How does it encourage reading?

PirateSmile · 03/03/2016 18:14

I'm really torn on this one. On the one hand I think there are so many wonderful fictional characters that it's a shame to choose a character who happens to appear in a book (the worst example I've seen is Beth Tweddle ). On the other hand, anything that encourages children to pick up a book and engage with it has to be a good thing.

Ameliablue · 03/03/2016 18:58

The point of world book day is to encourage reading, it doesn't matter if that reading involves characters from films.

DrCoconut · 03/03/2016 19:09

DS2 didn't have dressing up today, instead they took in a favourite book to share.

bluespiral · 03/03/2016 19:53

OP I completely agree with you.

I saw children today dressed as minions - and quite an effort had been made by the looks of it - I had to admit that I inwardly eye rolled.

how hard is it to think of an actual book? It's not like there's a lack of them and it doesn't have to involve expense or effort really.

QuadrupleL · 03/03/2016 19:57

At ours, they have to bring in the book. Middle L was adamant he wanted to be Sheep Creep - which is a skylander villain. Fortunately he got several reading books about Skylanders for Christmas, so that's sorted.

Last year he went as a creeper from minecraft. Teachers argued it wasn't a book so he took in his minecraft books the next day. He is not a book lover - I was and still am so it is nothing to do with parental encouraging. He loves stories and I read to him every night. His current favorite is either The Horse and his boy or Far Away Tree. But he wanted to wear a sheep onsie I bought for the Christmas nativity! I just had to make a harness and bazookas to go on his back!!!!!

lalalalyra · 03/03/2016 21:20

There were lots of Elsa's at school today. However I outdone them - I totally forgot it was WBD so poor DS was a crayon because that was what he was for Halloween and with 20 minutes notice (i.e. over breakfast when I got a text from my friend saying 'I fucking hate WBD. X ALWAYS changes his mind the day before. At least I didn't staple my finger to the outfit this year!') I couldn't think of a single other thing to do.

In my defence he forgot too, and since he is quite a contrary character at times he had a giggle to himself about being something that wrote in a book rather than was in the book...

I think his teacher was going to comment until she spotted the "Please don't make the pregnant lady who is currently feeling incredibly guilty cry" look on my face. The gate Queen Bee was actually silent for once so that was something I suppose.

Twistedheartache · 03/03/2016 21:26

How old is your ds lala. One of our fave books at the moment is "the day the crayons quit" my 4 yo dd thinks it's hilarious

coffeeisnectar · 03/03/2016 21:43

Dd moved to year 5 and middle school in September and I am so thankful that I no longer need to deal with this.

Instead each child takes in a book and swaps it for another one.

AKissACuddleAndACheekyFinger · 03/03/2016 22:49

Best option, as I think I've commented on another thread: a tea towel, a sheet/smock, sandals-Jesus! The Bible is a reasonably well known book and the teachers love it! Lots of characters to choose from....

MrsMook · 03/03/2016 23:08

Other than school uniform, DS will only wear shorts and t-shirts/ shirts. He doesn't do fancy dress. Fortunately he can be just about any young male character written before 1980

I did joke that he could be Peter (as in And Jane) and just wear swimming trunks. He wasn't thrilled for some reason!

We claimed he was his namesake from a well known book that I've read to him, and took the book in.

I think for the type of character stuff that the OP raises, the integrity comes from do the children know it as reading material or film/ TV only. I won't lose sleep over it though. I'll concentrate on my next lazy token gesture instead

SueTrinder · 03/03/2016 23:21

You forgot Harry Potterr. Half of DD1's class and the teacher were Harry Potter characters (to be fair they have been reading it in class) and the one child who didn't come in costume got 'look, Johnny has come as a Muggle' from the teacher .

DD2 went to school in a home made costume as a character from a book that hasn't been made into a film. She came home in tears because no-one knew who she was. That's why lots of people don't bother.

umizoomi · 03/03/2016 23:38

Normal book characters might wear normal clothes but they are specific. Horrid Henry wears a blue and yellow jumper which we don't have for example

YABU. A red hood for your DS? Ooh mine would love that. Not.

Original poster

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 03/03/2016 23:52

He was very happy with his costume, whats the problem?

OP posts:

TheDowagerCuntess · 03/03/2016 23:59

Putting aside the fact that WBD is actually just UKBD...

I don't think YABU. Our dressing up as a book character day is not until the third term, and DS is already saying he wants to go as (a young) Luke Skywalker.

And I am already trying to explain to him that it's not 'dress up' day, but book character day - he's having none of it.

I personally think it defeats the whole point of fostering a love of books and reading, if kids just dress up as the movie character du jour, but equally I don't want to be that miserable parent raining on his parade.

umizoomi · 04/03/2016 00:53

My kids love dressing up and and red hood for DS to be a girl wouldn't cut it to make sure he fitted into WBD 'criteria'

However, he still loved his voucher, 'Can we go buy a book at the weekend?' So what costume he wore us irrelevant IMO

Yet you think superheroes and film characters are not about books and all parents should create something amazing..

We have plenty of Toy Story/McQueen/spiderman books. We read one of each costume tonight. Job done.

As long as they gain the book interest what's the issue?

BillSykesDog · 04/03/2016 01:19

I did a hungry caterpillar. Green clothes, bit of red face paint, deely boppers, sorted.

I can't get too worked up about the non book characters. It's a huge hassle and expense when people are working full time, and I really don't blame them for taking the easy option and using whatever costume they have already.

Original poster

BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts · 04/03/2016 09:48

Umi, you clearly missed the post where i said i sat down with both children and they chose from the pile of books. So why would my ds be bothered to dress in a costume he chose? And anyway, it isnt essential to the story that red riding hood is a girl, is it?

OP posts:

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