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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Transformers is not a book!

112 replies

BasilFaulty · 05/03/2020 09:52

Come on, really?
Bloody World Book Day.
Just call it Superhero and Disney Princess Day and have done with it.

OP posts:
00100001 · 05/03/2020 10:33

may as well call Hallowe'en the same then.

it doesn't matter... if it gets kids reading, they can go as a poo eating unicorn for all I care.

JustInCaseCakeHappens · 05/03/2020 10:35

better than being one of "those' parents who buy random costumes in supermarkets or tell their kids to pick up anything from their dress up box... then moan that it WBD has nothing to do with reading Grin

Sceptre86 · 05/03/2020 10:36

My dh went very last minute to get a costume for my dd. She had wanted to be Jessie from Peter rabbit but we couldn't get her size. He ended up getting her an Elsa costume from frozen, she can use it for dress up play afterwards. As I dropped her off today there were 10 other girls in Elsa costumes, I did see a little girl in a Mary Poppins outfit. They all looked sweet. I saw many boys dressed as robots, trees and superheroes. It is just a bit of fun.

Milicentbystander72 · 05/03/2020 10:39

Malerie Blackman's (ex Children's Laureate!) big thing was promoting comics and graphic novels as very 'valid' forms of reading for children, especially boys.

YABU.

I'm in children's publishing and all day I get sent photos of children dressed as my book characters. It's great. However the vast majority are reused costumes or everyday clothes with a very simple/cheap twist.

I personally think WBD is fantastic but it should never be a massive stress. I think the media and supermarkets have got hold of it and made it into a massive competition.

Lycanthropology · 05/03/2020 10:40

I was very surprised at my posh, snobby teacher MIL being pleased when she saw DS with a comic (I'd tried to hide them when she visited!) "Well, it's all reading" she said. She's right.
DD (with ASD) only would read comics graphic novels, but then graduated onto a novel version of one of them.
Whatever gets a child interested in stories, characters, plots, language etc. has got to be a good thing.
Even if it is Tranformers.

Floribundance · 05/03/2020 10:41

It doesn’t matter what they read as long as they read. I shunned The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe for My Little Pony magazines. I wasn’t permanently damaged.

If they have a costume in that they will happily wear and can be linked to a book that’s a win. Reading matters. Costumes don’t.

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 05/03/2020 10:41

Ds who is 5 happily trotted off as the Headless Horseman this morning. He has not read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow (being 5 and all) although he adores the old Scooby Doo epsiode. He knows it is a book because he's seen my copy lying around. I asked what he wanted to be. I suggested a big bad wolf as we have around 15 versions of Little Red Riding Hood, a dragon, a knight, a big bad mouse...he wasn't having any of it. He's the headless horseman and he's going to get his teacher's head.

Transformers seem fine to me.

formerbabe · 05/03/2020 10:44

I have given enough headspace up thinking about my own dds costume...I can't give anymore to random kids

Sodthemess · 05/03/2020 10:44

Yabvu. Why do you even care anyway?

World book day dressing is a pain in the arse if you're time short/not very creative. BUT, it's a lot of fun for the children, so lots of parents will of course just use a dressing up outfit that they've already got. It doesn't take away from the ethos of world book day, your child isn't more likely to read bf side they wear a 'proper' outfit.

My eldest always went in as Spider-Man or batman, actually he loves the Marvel and DC comic BOOKS, they are great to get him reading something. Later he'd go in pyjamas or as a football player. Midnight Gang David Walliams? Ronaldo biography? These were books that he'd actually read.

TheVanguardSix · 05/03/2020 10:49

YABU! Rock on Optimus Prime! Still going strong on the playground! YES! Grin
DS1 (my eldest who is now 18) dressed up as bloomin' Optimus Prime in reception. For the love of God, I remember that morning and just the headache and the struggle. I was a single parent, working every hour sent my way. I hadn't time nor money to nail World Book Day and I was just like 'Fuck it! You want to be Optimus Prime? Then go, by the grace of the good Lord, and spread your cheer.'
Life is short.
I still have that Optimus Prime costume. Grin

RightOnTheEdge · 05/03/2020 10:51

I think I thought this for a little bit when my dc first started school.
Now a few years later I realise I was wrong then.

There are lots of princesses in books. Most Disney films and superhero films are based on books and comics.

My son has spiderman books, black Panther books and Power Ranger stories.

They are no less important than other books or reading. I think anything that get kids reading and enjoying it is great.

AriadnesFilament · 05/03/2020 10:53

Well, mine is going is as Ash from Pokemon because, in his words, “there are Pokemon books Mummy - I’ve read them”. There wasn’t much I could say to that. He’d have argued the same about any Star Wars character, Marvel character, or Transformers. Woe betide a teacher who tries to tell him he can’t be a Pokemon character because they aren’t books: he’s got the book in his bag!

YABU. And seemingly a bit of a snobby unreasonable person at that.

TheVanguardSix · 05/03/2020 10:53

I'd just go all out and get them a Pickle Rick costume. Just push the boat way out.

MrOnionsBumperRoller · 05/03/2020 10:56

All the kids with parents who cannot afford to buy a new costume/buy the bits to make one send their kids to school in the generic Disney costumes which the kids already own. HTH OP.

SuperFurryDoggy · 05/03/2020 10:58

Sorry, YABU

  1. Primary aged children are always dressing up for something or other. Nothing wrong with making do with what you have on hand.
  1. Children don’t really care about the provenance of their favourite book character. The first book series my DS really got into was the Elementia Chronicles, which are Minecraft fan fiction! He went as his favourite character, complete with Minecraft pickaxe that year. I’m sure there were lots of raised eyebrows from the more competitive parents. They were the books that got him into reading though.
EncroachingLoaf · 05/03/2020 10:59

Our school don't do dressing up for world book day. The kids just take a favourite book in. Mine's taken in (his favourite) transformers book - THE SHAME! he's one of the most advanced readers in his class though so who the fuck cares. You sound like a total snob.

SuperFurryDoggy · 05/03/2020 10:59

Fuck it! You want to be Optimus Prime? Then go, by the grace of the good Lord, and spread your cheer

GrinGrinGrin

TheSoapyFrog · 05/03/2020 11:00

What's this then?

To think Transformers is not a book!
Floribundance · 05/03/2020 11:01

A robot in disguise?

Didiplanthis · 05/03/2020 11:01

DS a few years ago went in a 3rd hand optimus prime with holes in and a tutu. He was 5. He looked lovely and embraced all manner of diversity . Today I have sent 3 in various options of adapted own clothes with a bit of Imagination, an existing fluffy onsie, and in intricate combination of various ( bumped up price for this week ) outfits from amazon to get it 'just right or he wasnt going' (ASD). I must really confuse and piss of the judgemental mothers from both sides who would like to pigeon hole me....

puds11 · 05/03/2020 11:02

World book day is shit and just another way to make parents in lower income families feel crap.

Sack off the dressing up and get the children to actually read some god damn books at school on the day.

Floribundance · 05/03/2020 11:05

Criteria for World Book Day costume:

Is it in the house?
Will the child wear it to school?
Will it result in phone calls or letters from the school or social services?
Can the child, using whatever verbal gymnastics necessary, link it to a book?

If it’s yes, yes, no, yes it’s a winner.

GrumpysOtherHalf · 05/03/2020 11:05

Ds school has said the dc can go to school dressed as an adjective on WBD as opposed to a costume if they wish. So, sleepy, sparkly, muddy etc etc

This has been the easiest WBD ever!!! 😁

After all it's about celebrating books and adjectives are all part of that. So he's gone as 'sporty'... football kit with football, medals etc which he already had. Not cost me a penny!

Number3or4 · 05/03/2020 11:05

My dc school finally stopped doing this, this year. No more costumes! However, they asked for sandwiches board of the child favourite book. Maybe suggest something similar to this? Yes, where a lot of children with the same book as their favourite. They had to draw a picture of the book at the front and comments/ reviews of the book at the back. Or simply their favourite line(s) in the book.

Pumperthepumper · 05/03/2020 11:07

I couldn’t care less what the kids dress up as but I so wish WBD would use the opportunity to promote lesser-know authors and move away from the endless tv tie-ins. One of the free books is Bing Bunny and they’re just shite, there are a million more interesting, more engaging books that are getting pushed out of the way.