To despise what world book day has become

[Whoinvented]

Currently searching for an outfit for my child who hates fancy dress but loves books. Why can’t schools just ask kids to bring their favourite book in? Why the expensive ridiculous need for a costumer every sodding year!!! We don’t have the money to waste, I’m crap at making stuff, my kids hate it. World book day has lost its meaning and can get fucked 😂

Do they have to dress up, can they go in thier school uniform? I agree, i think it's silly and wasteful.

My kids tried to find a character that fit their favourite outfits. This saves money and they got to wear mufti (they were not worried about having a “good” costume that brought attention)

If they have a character T-shirt and that character features in a book then it technically meets the criteria. Eg Marvel Avengers was originally a comic book so wearing a T-shirt with the characters meets the dressing up requirement.

Send them in in normal clothes and pick a character in a book they like who wears normal clothes.

World fancy dress day

Our school has stated costumes can't be bought ones and all kids can just come as they are and be 'authors' - removed the stress completely. Maybe suggest it to your school for next year?

I think it was always a bit crap. Even twenty years ago it was more about supermarkets cashing in by selling environmentally unfriendly costumes than it was about reading.
But it wouldn't surprise me if it was getting even more crap, since that seems to be the trend generally.

This is what we did as the kids got older as mine hated dressing up.
Easy peasy.

Our school is relatively sensible in that they suggest pyjamas (or this year space theme or pyjamas) but they always say that there is no need to spend money and to repurpose something you have.

But agree with others, use something you have and make it fit a book......mine went as butterflies one year as they owned wings and I used pipe cleaners on a headband and we borrowed a book from the library about butterflies.

How old are you, @Whoinvented ? Have you been asleep for 30 years? Because it's been a dressing up day for at least that long.

DS once went in a dressing gown and a towel because we'd been reading Hitchhiker's to him and he wanted to be Arthur Dent.

I work in a school and we are all expected to go crazy for this! My kids are older now and I can’t be arsed to make anything and I don’t want to spend money- ironically I love books but not this 🤨

The whole thing is ridiculous and seems to have lost the focus on books. You are definitely not being unreasonable.

If people want a dressing up day have that too

Our school does it every other year. I was of the "Captain America/Ronaldo shirt is not a book character" school of thought but I'm 5 years into this crap now so DS7 is wearing a Minecraft onesie with an axe he got from a Minecraft magazine and being a character from Minecraft - Into the Game novels.

It was brilliant when it started one year my dds school all came in pj's and bought pillows and blankets they bought in books parents were allowed in to read to the children (technically your own child but you had an audience) they read for the day now its just ridiculous

This year my son is going as percy jackson problem is he cant read confidently (13 and sen) so we are watching the series

It has always been costumes I think? I don’t think there was ever a time that the dressing up wasn’t part of it, although I agree that there’s no need for expensive costumes and I do think they should be discouraged.

Back when I was teaching (Early Years) it would be 95% kids in their favourite Disney princess or superhero costume with no particular reference to books or reading. The schools I worked at changed to either come in your pjs with a favourite book or dress as a ‘wow word’.

DD’s school also does dress as a word (they specified adjective this year). Which is easy enough as you can do own clothes and come up with whatever word works with them - colourful, stripey, comfortable, sporty, athletic, cosy, floral etc etc. Then if people want to do fabulous homemade creations, or buy them a Disney outfit, they can still scratch that itch and find a word that goes with it. Guarantee there will be endless ‘magical’ Elsas and ‘strong’ Hulks etc in evidence. We usually cobble something together from what she owns - we’re going with ‘bejewelled’ because she already has a headband that fits the bill, and there were sheets on stick on jewels for half price in Sainsbury’s so I got a few and she can go wild on an old t-shirt (they won’t stay on very long probably but still).

They also have optional extra competitions - a sponsored readathon, usually some kind of craft thing like decorate a potato as a character and they do extreme read/ send in a picture reading somewhere unusual too. Which feels like a lot honestly, and as much as they say they’re optional, DD is a child who really wants to do everything and will harp on about it so guess I better find a way of making a potato look like a mermaid before Thursday. I wish they’d stick to the dress up (in a way that allows low key options) and talk about books and skip the rest honestly.

In my experience, World Book Day costumes fall into 3 main categories:

1. Superheroes. Usually a bought Spider-Man costume.
2. Generic Princess
3. Famous Footballer, achieved by wearing a football shirt with the player's name and number on it.

I can't see what any of this has got to do with developing a love of reading.

While some of my colleagues really go for it on World Book Day (the colleague who went as Miss Havisham deserves a special mention for commitment), I always turn up as "generic frazzled old teacher".

I just used to send them in scruffy clothes as Charlie Bucket, make a golden ticket and give them a big bar of chocolate for the teacher to share with the class.

He could go as one of the famous five and just wear a t-shirt and jeans.

Must you go along with it? What would happen if your DC wore whatever they usually wear to school?

I assume the dressing up is to make books seem fun to the kids who don’t like reading. I doubt it works…

Keep them off and claim you’ve sent the in as God from The Bible.

I was an English teacher so I actually do like WBD and always make an effort. However, my eldest hated dressing up so I got into the habit of finding characters with outfits that could be replicated easily with normal clothes and a couple of accessories. That way even if I have to buy new clothes, at least they are real clothes and can be worn until they grow out of them.

E.g. Peter Rabbit - brown joggers and t-shirt, blue hoody (I added a hat with ears but I had to knit that as couldn't find one).

Coraline - blue jeans, stripey long sleeved t-shirt, yellow raincoat.

Luna Lovegood - patterned dress, pink denim jacket, blue leggings, a couple of accessories like the weird goggles and a wand.

There are also a fair few characters that go about in their pjs so that's always an option too.

At DS's school the theme is Beatrix Potter. His interpretation of Peter Rabbit is going to be blue hoodie, some beige cargo trousers and some bunny ears

I know of a few schools locally that are making it optional - including an option to just wear comfortable clothes, so those who don't want to / can't dress up can still go in without uniform.

Just seen this as must have posted at same time - great minds and all that!

It's "Encourage a love of reading by dressing up in crappy outfits imported from China Day" in many cases.