AIBU that world book day doesn’t support reading, but instead supports the buying of crappy costumes on amazon?

[Midlifeargh]

I really am starting to hate world book day.

Sure, it comes from a great place.

But sick of making costumes because I’m too cheap to buy them (also don’t like throw away fashion).

Also sick of it always being MY problem because I’m the freaking woman.

Am I being unreasonable that world book day does more to support amazon.com’s costume department than actual reading?

(I sort of want to be unreasonable in thinking that, to be honest!)

*sell us - bloody autocorrect!

I mean the amazon issue - are there no fancy dress shops local to you? Where I am we have one in the town (I work in this one), one thirty minutes away, and one forty five minutes away.
But no yanbu about the emphasis placed on costumes rather than books. Thankfully my other workplace aren't doing costumes this year and are just asking for favourite books to be brought in to share, last year it was the something anniversary of the thats not my series so we had to choose characters from the books 😒

We did a mad dash to asda and paid £15 for basically a bit of nylon

I have liked WBD in the past, and like putting together a costume with DS, from stuff we have at home, and making accessory bits.

This year is really annoying, as the school has imposed a theme, so no imagination is involved, and after fruitlessly combing the shops trying to find what was needed, in the end I gave in and bought an outfit on Amazon. I am pissed off at having to do that - it's wasteful, and there's the hypocrisy of schools plugging the environmental message on one hand, and then setting a theme for which almost all parents will have to buy a single use, synthetic costume.

DS wants to be able to dress up as a character he likes. Lots of the children are unhappy about it, and I don't see that it does anything to promote reading.

I thought most kids wore their favorite dressing up outfit or wore mufti and tried to think of a book that it vaguely represented?

I'm sick of it too. It feels less and less about reading.... you don't need to dress up to celebrate and enjoy reading imo it's lost its original purpose.

and tried to think of a book that it vaguely represented?

what is the actual point of that?!?

The point being that they weren't bothered about dressing up and I wasn't going to buy a costume that would never be worn again. I suspect that there are lots of kids who dress up as characters who wear normal clothes

Our school has themes for dress-up day. This year its 'inspirational people from past or present' not really any link to a book. Last year it was 'journeys and explorers', year before that was 'famous scientists'

My children loathe dressing up and would happily go in school uniform.

My horse mad dd is just going in her riding gear as the girl from Clare Balding's horse books.

Ask everybody to donate a book to the school library - this would make sense.
The costume thing is just silly, money spent on polyester tat. I just don’t understand why.

I love World Book Day as an English teacher, I definitely think it promotes reading in a healthy way to young children. I don’t necessarily think parents have to go out and buy overpriced crappy costumes, you can make them or buy clothes they can wear at other times I.e an animal onesie. Second hand purchases are good too if you’re organised enough to get them in advance.

Ask everybody to donate a book to the school library

My DC’s school has asked for £1 donation to buy more books for the school library which I think is fab.

Granddaughters going as lilly bobtail (shes 3 1/2) and has to donate a copy of the book too, which is handy as she recieved two 'I am lilly bobtail' for Christmas and had her mum had kept it for the birthday present stash drawer.Already had pink tunic, short pink cardigan(last summers so it's short in lenght) and grey leggings but did have to buy grey rabbit ears and tail for a couple of pound which were easy to find as easter is around the corner. Super glued some flowers from the craft box to headband and dress. Shes excited and wanted the book read repeatedly tonight, not sure she gets that she has to donate a copy tomorrow.

I've always been happy with world book day. We've generally fashioned costumes from whatever bits we've had at home, and if I've had to make something, it's then been adapted to different costumes. E.g. I made a black cloak one year. For different children, it has been a cloak for the Man in Black (Princess Bride), Death (Pratchett), Tiffany Aching (Pratchett), Feyra (A Court of Thorns and Roses), and this year it's Katsa (Graceling). The rest of the outfits have been different sorts of things we've had already. If we've had to buy something, it's been a normal clothes item that they will just keep wearing. The kids just decide who they want to be and we look in our wardrobes to find what will do.

Yanbu it drives me up the wall I've had Victorian day and world book Day in the same week

Yup! My DD's nursery is filled with Princess and superhero costumes, not that I'm judging, I find WBD a bit of a pain - I don't have time or talent to make costumes for both DC and I refuse to throw money at it!

But quite pleased this year, had a flash of inspiration that involves using existing clothes, a bit of imagination, both DCs' actual favourite books and no effort required yes I know I'll need to try harder come the school years

My dcs have always just gone in non uniform. Non of them liked dressing up so I wasnt wasting my money.

Okay I must be in the minority. My 2 year old is obsessed with the Tiger who came to tea. He has speech delay but that's one of the first words he said.

So I bought a tiger costume online and I'm looking forward to putting him in it for nursery tomorrow.

I'm sure the novelty for me will wear off as he gets older!

I fucking hate WBD. It always sneaks up on you and I'm far too disorganised to have things prepped. I used to just the kids in normal clothes and send them in with a book that had a normally dressed child in it, but OH NO, NOT THIS YEAR. This year the school have decided to pick a book for each class to dress up as characters from. OH FUCKING JOY.

Luckily for me, my son thought it was last Friday and so I had time to realise I needed to sort it out... £12 on Amazon later and we have a costume that I resent.

It also supports wasting a whole load of time this evening looking for last year's costumes to wear again Causes me a load of stress but my DC love dressing up.

OP, your title made me laugh out loud. I'm so, so glad my two are in Secondary school and beyond this. You are definitely not being unreasonable.

There’s more to it than just the costumes.

@Teacup34 we had 12 hours notice for Victorian day. Literally they sent a text the afternoon before. Apparently only 3 children dressed up. I hate our school

I know of a school local to me where all kids have been given one book to choose a 'character' from. The Bible.