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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say that World Book Day should be about BOOK characters?!

254 replies

mrsbn1988 · 21/02/2023 20:34

This is lighthearted .

But AIBU for getting an irrational rage that there are kids dressed up as Elsa or Moana or Marvel someone every WBD?

This stems from the fact that I've just been looking for a WBD costume from a well-known supermarket and spotted a Bluey costume. Now don't get me wrong - I LOVE Bluey, but Bluey was created for TV. Same as Peppa Pig.

I KNOW there are story books around that feature these characters, but they were originally created for TV or film, so they don't count.

And yes, characters like Harry Potter do, because they were originally book characters before the film adaptions.

I'm interested to hear other's opinions. Is World Book Day just becoming an excuse for kids to dress up in their favourite fancy dress outfit without actually thinking about the book element?!

OP posts:
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5
PurpleFlower1983 · 21/02/2023 23:35

Oh school stopped the dressing up for this reason, this year it’s coming back by popular demand, optional fancy dress.

SleepingStandingUp · 21/02/2023 23:40

MelchiorsMistress · 21/02/2023 20:51

I’m with you all the way OP, but I’m made for feel like a grinch for thinking World Book Day should be about books.

Pre schoolers dressing up in whatever they fancy is fine but by school age it’s missing the whole point if parents make it about TV or film characters. Some parents might not care about these things at all or some might feel their children have enough reading/book positivity that it doesn’t matter what their children wear for WBD. But if the thing is worth doing then it’s worth doing properly.

Our school allows screen character costumes if the child brings in a book or comic featuring that character but they’re all supposed to do that anyway so it seems a good plan.

So if they fail to arrive with the book, are they sent home or do they have to strip?

RedToothBrush · 21/02/2023 23:52

PurpleFlower1983 · 21/02/2023 23:35

Oh school stopped the dressing up for this reason, this year it’s coming back by popular demand, optional fancy dress.

'optional'

SleepingStandingUp · 21/02/2023 23:56

Phos · 21/02/2023 21:54

I get why people are saying YABU but I'm going YANBU on this. As someone else said, plenty book characters wear regular clothes. My daughter is going as a vet this year. I've bought a costume because we are able to but it's something we could have done on the cheap if we needed to.

But it doesn't matter if plenty of books have ordinary characters, it matters if your kid actually likes those books. DS is obsessed with Dogman. So my choices are a "head of a dog, body of a man, heart of a hero", several sizes of different types of cat, various building and items that come alive, police officers, female news reporter. He could go as the author's who are school kids but I'd still need a wig and the identical outfit. As it is were going with the half dog concoction

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 21/02/2023 23:58

I made a costume last year. It took me fecking age. An hour my arse.
You're missing the point. Of course making a costume can take many hours, if you choose something complicated, or just want to enjoy creating a character that your child loves.

But it doesn't have to - a simple costume can be assembled without sewing or from stuff that people have at home. People who say they have to buy one because they have no time to make one are blowing the idea of making one out of all proportion. Because it suits them to whine that it's too hard.

surreygirl1987 · 22/02/2023 00:02

Oh come on. My 4 year old has never seen Peppa Pig on TV. He doesn't even know it's a TV show. He's read loads of PP books though. I'm not going to tell him he can't be PP for WBD just because it is primarily for TV.

NellePorter · 22/02/2023 00:04

Anything that might encourage reading can't be wrong.
And for every parent that doesn't want to do it, there's another that does.
My school didn't do dressing up for a couple of years because it was something that always came up on the parent survey as BU, and guess what, everyone complained! So it started again

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2023 00:07

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 21/02/2023 23:19

You are really SO busy that you can't find an hour to put together a costume, given at least a month's notice? How so?

Show quote history

An hour??? I'm crafting an oversized dog head fr cardboard which needs to stay on his head, and needs a cap on top, and has to be the right shape. Ears must be fluffy (sorry bear hat) but hoping I can fudge it with hot glue. Yellow symbol onto hat and t-shirt. Dog make up for when he takes his large head off in lessons. It took me over an hour just to get a shape and balance of the head right!!

Sceptre86 · 22/02/2023 00:09

Yabu. My dd wants dress up as matilda, that costume was sorted easily. I asked my son and his current favourite book is a spiderman one so that's what he wants to go as. It is a comic character and he already owns the costume. It saves me forking out another £16.

RedToothBrush · 22/02/2023 00:20

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 21/02/2023 23:58

I made a costume last year. It took me fecking age. An hour my arse.
You're missing the point. Of course making a costume can take many hours, if you choose something complicated, or just want to enjoy creating a character that your child loves.

But it doesn't have to - a simple costume can be assembled without sewing or from stuff that people have at home. People who say they have to buy one because they have no time to make one are blowing the idea of making one out of all proportion. Because it suits them to whine that it's too hard.

Having 'stuff' around the house to make a costume with is an assumption.

I simply didn't. And I have more stuff than you can shake a stick at.

I always remember there being fabric when I was child around the house, and it was cheap and easy to get hold of. Now you have to go to a specialist and if you go online you have to pay postage.

This assumes you have the glue / sewing equipment too. Again it's less common.

My mum made costumes when I was a kid - she didn't work. Again something that's changed. Mums are much more time poor for stuff like that.

When you can get a costume for a tenner, it's hard to do cheaper for many. Genuinely. Cos I try not to buy too much as a rule.

Sleepingstandingup. I feel your pain so much!!!

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 22/02/2023 00:24

It's perfectly possible to make a costume that needs no glue or sewing, using normal clothes that can be worn again afterwards.

Lysianthus · 22/02/2023 00:25

Everyotherone · 21/02/2023 20:56

Now that I’m on my soapbox, I’ll just add that it should be changed to world reading day and instead of costumes and crafts, they should explore different ways of accessing literature and information via paper books, electronic sources, graphic novels, theatre, audio books, reading aloud, dyslexic friendly fonts etc.

Not to mention the back of a cereal packet. As advised by an old primary school teacher of my DD. I'll add signposts and advertising boards which are great on car journeys.
Basically all reading sources are good.
Sorry to derail OP. And I agree with you but mostly for the environment bit and I love the child who went in school uniform because of the book she loved!

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 22/02/2023 00:26

@SleepingStandingUp you're missing the point. Your child's costume cannot be made in an hour. But not all costumes take an hour to make/assemble.

Noodlesmumm · 22/02/2023 00:39

My daughter dressed up as her favourite Roald Dahl character, Mrs Twits. She really threw herself into it, shaggy horrible wig, witches nose etc.

First prize went to a girl dressed up as Cleopatra (granted she appears in history books, but I didn't agree at the time that it was in the spirit, buy maybe I was wrong)

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 22/02/2023 00:47

Who gives a shit.

Im more concerned as to wether children actually READ books on WBD. In my DC’s school they do all manner of random things - dressing up, creating a scene from your favourite book, door dressing. Nothing that says “read a book” though

purpleme12 · 22/02/2023 01:34

I'll probably send mine in Elsa because it's what we've got. Rather than buying something else she'll wear once

JackiePlace · 22/02/2023 01:41

Comics aren't books.

IrritableCowSyndrome · 22/02/2023 01:46

I would literally dread World Book Day.

I think it should be stopped as so many parents were stressed about making an outfit or having the money to go and buy one.

IrritableCowSyndrome · 22/02/2023 01:49

I think that kids should draw a picture of their favourite character on World Book Day.

Ericaequites · 22/02/2023 02:29

There are books which are better than others. Comic books, books featuring TV characters, and anything related to Dis**y are not as good as children’s classics such as Beatrix Potter, Elinor Brent-Dyer, Tolkien, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Teaching children to comprehend and appreciate good literature is an important part of education.
I’m a good seamstress, and would be willing to put 10-20 hours into making a wonderful WBD costume. When I was a child, my mother loathed Halloween. I made my own costumes, which weren’t as nice as those bought or rented for the occasion. Why shouldn’t my child have something others would envy?

MrsMikeDrop · 22/02/2023 02:38

I agree with you OP, I thought the point is to get kids interested in books but mine is only a baby so I can see how some children might want to dress up as something else (and why it wouldn't be worth arguing about). But I do agree!!

Awumminnscotland · 22/02/2023 02:44

No dressing up happening in our primary school! Just different projects on books and bring in a book. Phew!

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 22/02/2023 02:50

YANBU.

The dressing up is OTT these days.

At most they should draw a picture of their favorite character from an actual book and pin it to their uniform. All equal and no wasteful bullshit.

Needmorelego · 22/02/2023 02:58

@JackiePlace of course comics are books. That's why they are called 'Comic Books'.
Is Tin Tin not a book?
Is Maus not a book?
Is Fungus the Bogeyman not a book?
Asterix? Watchmen, V for Vendetta?
One of my daughters favourite books when she was age about 4 was Lulu and the Flying Babies by Posy Simmonds and she desperately wanted to read the sequel which was out of print and hard to get (my sister found a copy on eBay).
Comics ARE books.
(Obviously some of the above aren't for primary age and you wouldn't really want to go as a character from....)

WhatsGoinOnMama · 22/02/2023 03:02

Of course you are being unreasonable to be bothered by this. It’s book day, it’s not important. When your kids are older, you will probably realise how ridiculous you sound.

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