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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
PennyRa · 22/02/2023 03:35

It's all literature so what does it matter. It's fun, like school should be

Kokeshi123 · 22/02/2023 03:39

Most kids who turn up in a Minnie Mouse costume are dressed like that because their parents do not have the time to make costumes from scratch or the money to buy one-use costumes that will get thrown away, and a Minnie Mouse costume is what they had in the house already. Not, in most cases, because the child never reads any books.

I think having a day actually focused on reading at school, or writing a report on a book you read recently, would be more useful than encouraging the consumption of yet more polyester crap, frankly. Why are British schools so uniquely obsessed with dressing up? I've never seen anything like this obsession in other countries.

Kokeshi123 · 22/02/2023 03:41

And saying "But only takes XYZ to make a costume!" is missing the point. It is all mental load, yet another thing that has to be remembered and thought about.

lilsupersparks · 22/02/2023 06:22

For the dog man example - just draw a 2D mask. Stick a stick on it. That way they can hold it up when they want a photo and the rest of the day they are just in normal clothes.

OoooohMatron · 22/02/2023 07:21

JoonT · 21/02/2023 22:50

With respect, I disagree. There should be a degree of snobbery around books. And there should be a canon. Some people are cleverer than others, and their opinion matters more. There is a reason the best minds of each generation have admired Homer and Dante and Shakespeare and Milton and Jane Austen and Dickens, etc. I 100% agree with Harold Bloom on this. The woke-left are now attacking the canon, and it makes me weep.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying kids (or even adults) should be reading nothing but Plato and Virginia Woolf. But even among children’s books there is a hierarchy. J K Rowling is a dreadful writer. Lewis’s Narnia books, Tolkien’s Hobbit, Roald Dahl’s stuff, Alice in Wonderland, Philip Pullman’s work, The Wind in the Willows, etc, are all vastly superior.

A book doesn’t have to be heavy to be good btw. P G Wodehouse, for example, was a genius. When he died, people compared him to Shakespeare and Keats. Very few novelists have ever written more exquisitely. As a stylist, he is superior to Thomas Hardy.

Show quote history

With respect, you're talking shit. My Son loves maths, science and football and the books he reads reflect that. He reads books about science facts, geology and football legends, but has no interest in chapter books. His reading is brilliant and always has been and he got top marks for reading in his mock SATs recently. But according to you he's less clever than others.

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 22/02/2023 07:22

Kokeshi123 · 22/02/2023 03:41

And saying "But only takes XYZ to make a costume!" is missing the point. It is all mental load, yet another thing that has to be remembered and thought about.

Oh for goodness sake. Having children involves thinking every now and again about more than just keeping them fed and warm. You'll be saying that planning a trip to the park is too much "mental load" next.

BeautifulWar · 22/02/2023 07:24

I think having a day actually focused on reading at school, or writing a report on a book you read recently, would be more useful than encouraging the consumption of yet more polyester crap, frankly.

But they do that anyway. The idea is that it's supposed to be FUN.

For the dog man example - just draw a 2D mask. Stick a stick on it. That way they can hold it up when they want a photo and the rest of the day they are just in normal clothes.

Exactly. Face paint would also work. I really don't get where the 'mental load' there is!

Likewise, I don't see the problem with going as characters in normal clothes that might not be known or immediately identifiable by other kids. Isn't the point to talk about your book and that the child loves the book?

Loved the post where a child went as saucepan man!

thebellagio · 22/02/2023 07:46

JoonT · 21/02/2023 22:50

With respect, I disagree. There should be a degree of snobbery around books. And there should be a canon. Some people are cleverer than others, and their opinion matters more. There is a reason the best minds of each generation have admired Homer and Dante and Shakespeare and Milton and Jane Austen and Dickens, etc. I 100% agree with Harold Bloom on this. The woke-left are now attacking the canon, and it makes me weep.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying kids (or even adults) should be reading nothing but Plato and Virginia Woolf. But even among children’s books there is a hierarchy. J K Rowling is a dreadful writer. Lewis’s Narnia books, Tolkien’s Hobbit, Roald Dahl’s stuff, Alice in Wonderland, Philip Pullman’s work, The Wind in the Willows, etc, are all vastly superior.

A book doesn’t have to be heavy to be good btw. P G Wodehouse, for example, was a genius. When he died, people compared him to Shakespeare and Keats. Very few novelists have ever written more exquisitely. As a stylist, he is superior to Thomas Hardy.

Show quote history

I cannot disagree more with @JoonT

i can’t believe that you’ve actually said people who read the classics are better than others. That is the most snobbish thing I think I’ve EVER read on mumsnet and that’s saying something.

personally I’m a huge reader but I’m not a fan of WBD. There seems to be little focus on the actual reading part of it. My kid hates dressing up. Really hates it. She’s so relieved that our school are doing a PJ party instead, but the mums on the playground are kicking off and threatening all sorts. Just because they (not the kids, the parents) want to have the glory of trying to compete in a pointless costume contest.

TheKeatingFive · 22/02/2023 08:04

WBD has been turned into yet another lazy dress up day.

You can't blame parents for therefore treating it ... like a dress up day ... and using whatever costumes they have.

Needmorelego · 22/02/2023 08:06

@JoonT also seems to be forgetting that non fiction books exist.
I read about children whose costumes are things like a bunch of post-it notes with words on attached to their clothes (book = The Dictionary) or lots of mini printed out World Record certificates stuck to clothes (book = Guinness Book of Records).
The kid that dresses up in their football kit could be because their favourite book is 1001 Fun Facts About Football.
It's World Book Day....not World Novel Day.

TheKeatingFive · 22/02/2023 08:07

But they do that anyway. The idea is that it's supposed to be FUN.

My kids don't find dressing up fun. They do, however, love reading.

WhereAreMyAirpods · 22/02/2023 08:08

YANBU but a bigger problem is the sheer waste caused by parents who feel pressured into buying a supermarket costume every year which is then discarded. Given that many schools are also claiming eco status or similar, it's ridiculous that they are still doing this.

FeinCuroxiVooz · 22/02/2023 08:14

I agree with you but I also think it's unreasonable to have any dress-up days where parents will be forced to spend money they don't have. The easiest way to ensure that is to have as few rules as possible and let the kids wear any costume they like whether or not it is related to books.

I self-imposed my own rule, that the costume must be almost entirely things that we either already have in the house, or can be bought if they could reasonably be bought for non-WBD reasons (eg I bought a particular colour of pyjamas one year), with a maximum budget of £5 for any additional accessories needed. we survived the years of WBD without needing a marvel or disney movie costume, but some years the character was an ordinary 21sr century child wearing mostly ordinary clothes. there are plenty of book characters that fit that description.

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2023 08:19

WhereAreMyAirpods · 22/02/2023 08:08

YANBU but a bigger problem is the sheer waste caused by parents who feel pressured into buying a supermarket costume every year which is then discarded. Given that many schools are also claiming eco status or similar, it's ridiculous that they are still doing this.

Do s hooks put pressure on parents to buy a new shop brought outfit every year, or do parents do it to each other?

Splodgerbodgerbadger · 22/02/2023 08:20

I tried to get DD to go as the Emperor from the Emperors new clothes…

Wheelz46 · 22/02/2023 08:22

I find it really sad parents ridiculing children's choice of costume. If an Elsa or Anna costume makes a child happy then that's the main thing in my opinion. Whether it's derived from a film and then made as a comic or an annual, it's still reading material.

The point of world book day is to get children thinking of reading and if it's a book about disney characters that inspire them to read then surely that is a good thing!

10storeylovesong · 22/02/2023 08:24

I did a literature degree. I read voraciously and get sent ARCs by publishers to read and review (around 3 a week on top of my full time job). My two sons are also voracious readers - the house is absolutely crammed full in books of every description, much to my husbands despair.

My stipulation for wbd for my son's was that it had to be something they already had and they pretty much had to come up with it themselves. My 5 year old has come up with Mr Krup from Captain underpants with his school trousers, his dads tie, and his PE jacket. My eldest is going as Artemis fowl, and I did cave and purchase a black blazer off vinted for £2.

I do always use wbd to treat them to get more books - any excuse, right? But the costumes are pointless and if either of them wanted to go as a marvel character from costumes they already have, I would have supported that as they have the early reader Marvel books and the graphic novels

R0ckets · 22/02/2023 08:25

Do s hooks put pressure on parents to buy a new shop brought outfit every year, or do parents do it to each other?

In my experience its definitely the parents and that's clear from this thread. Schools don't give a hoot what your chid turns up in as long as they are comfortable and happy but other parents criticism of costumes not being suitable or parents not trying hard enough will absolutely lead to some parents feeling obligated to buy a costume that is deemed acceptable.

RagingWoke · 22/02/2023 08:27

Bemyclementine · 21/02/2023 23:12

@RagingWoke what is the new book please? Interested. 😊

'The girl of ink and stars' by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Really lovely book, full of adventure, mystery and strong female characters.

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2023 08:27

lilsupersparks · 22/02/2023 06:22

For the dog man example - just draw a 2D mask. Stick a stick on it. That way they can hold it up when they want a photo and the rest of the day they are just in normal clothes.

You haven't met my child.

He came out of WBD 2022 knowing what he wanted to be in WBD 2023. I put off making it incase he changed his mind. In October I had to reassure him by asking his teacher that juniors DID get to do costumes. Wed already settled in what it would look like from Google searches.

Sure I could scribble a dog head on a piece of paper and shove it on a stick. But it matters to him that I don't. Just like it matters to his classmate that he gets to wear his own clothes. Both kids needs are important.

Santasoorplooms · 22/02/2023 08:35

Reading is reading. If they want to dress up as the back of a cereal box, good on them.

Fizbosshoes · 22/02/2023 08:35

This debate happens every year with people getting judgy about what should or shouldn't be allowed
Dressing up is not universally enjoyed or afforded.

The best WBD our DC had was wearing their own clothes and taking in their favourite book to tell the class about (there were no rules about whether books with TV characters were allowed!)

SomePosters · 22/02/2023 08:36

You’re being unnecessarily uptight about it tbh

Its not world book-that-I-deem-literary-enough day

It’s a bit of fun to round off the end of term and to encourage kids to think and talk about books, it’s hardly a great British institution gone to the dogs

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2023 08:37

BeautifulWar · 22/02/2023 07:24

I think having a day actually focused on reading at school, or writing a report on a book you read recently, would be more useful than encouraging the consumption of yet more polyester crap, frankly.

But they do that anyway. The idea is that it's supposed to be FUN.

For the dog man example - just draw a 2D mask. Stick a stick on it. That way they can hold it up when they want a photo and the rest of the day they are just in normal clothes.

Exactly. Face paint would also work. I really don't get where the 'mental load' there is!

Likewise, I don't see the problem with going as characters in normal clothes that might not be known or immediately identifiable by other kids. Isn't the point to talk about your book and that the child loves the book?

Loved the post where a child went as saucepan man!

Tbf I didn't complain about mental load of Dog Man, just laughing at the "one hour throwing something half hearted together and you're done". Some kids actually care about WBD and that's as ok as the kids who go in their jeans and t-shirt then find a character to for or the kid who's worn Elsa for five years in a row and now has to put leggings underneath.

Fizbosshoes · 22/02/2023 08:39

The point of world book day is to get children thinking of reading and if it's a book about disney characters that inspire them to read then surely that is a good thing!

A cynical person could be excused for thing WBD morphed into a good money spinner for supermarkets and Amazon etc producing costumes that might be worn once or twice