The true meaning of World Book Day

So, the plan was to go to Tesco and get some milk first thing this morning before sitting down to write part two of my blog about kids' television from the 1970s. On my short journey to the supermarket, I pass three primary schools (it's actually one infant, one junior, and a primary school, to be exact), and today, I noticed that something was different about the children, which changed my plans for the morning. I was surprised to see quite a few wizards, several minions, a company of firefighters and some old-fashioned robbers in stripy jumpers carrying their bags of swag with them on their way to school. Plus, I had the easiest game of 'Where's Wally?' ever as there were at least four of them! 

Then I realised, of course, that it's World Book Day today. There are lots of special days that form part of the school calendar, and it is really weird now to be away from all that, as so many must be passing by without me realising. I just checked, and World Book Day started in 1995, just before I qualified as a teacher, so I must have taken part in one each year of my whole career.

It's funny, but my views on the day itself, primarily on the dressing-up part, have changed considerably over time. Although I have never been a fan of dressing up personally, early in my teaching career, I always felt a little disappointed in the children who 'didn't bother' or those who 'cheated' by dressing up as a character from a film or just wore their football kit, for example. At that time, I guess I was just getting caught up in the event and not thinking about little things, like the extortionate cost of buying a costume, for example. 

The pressure put on parents, particularly from supermarkets, must be intense this time of year. Most of them seem to have dedicated World Book Day sections, with various options on offer. To be fair, there are some budget items priced around £7-£10, but given how many times the outfit is likely to be worn, this still seems a lot to ask of parents who are struggling. Just for fun, I had a quick look to see what the most expensive costume I could find was, and I found a Harry Potter one from Argos that cost £24.

Homemade costumes are of course preferrable to shop-bought ones, and that can be a succesful strategy, although it can create pressure of a different kind for parents who might feel that they are less creative then others. Also, it opens the door for children of teachers to smash it, as in my experience, teacher-parents love going to extremes to create their children's costumes.

No wonder then that some families 'don't bother' or 'cheat', as the younger me would have thought. I probably would do too if I was in that position. Obviously, World Book Day didn't exist when I was in primary school, or I would have been a conscientious objector too, but for another reason. As I mentioned at the top of this post, I hate dressing up. I have always done so, even as a child, so I would implore schools to consider introverts like me on World Book Day.

I am not going to suggest that we completely ban dressing up in schools, as most children enjoy it and it helps create a special feeling on themed days. I believe, though, that we should be refocusing on the true meaning of World Book Day, as described on the charity website, which does not mention dressing up at all.

Reading for fun is the single biggest indicator that a child will grow up to enjoy a happier and more successful life – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational backgrounds or their income.

We believe children are more likely to read if they enjoy it, so we’re on a mission to encourage them to see reading as an entertaining, social and fun thing to do. We want more children to grow up with a life-long, life-changing habit of reading for fun and all the benefits this brings.

There does seem to have been a bit of a sea change in recent years. However, I don't think that it goes far enough. Judging from the huge number of pictures in news articles online today, most schools seem to be going down the tried and tested, 'well, we have always done things that way' route of asking their children to dress up as their favourite book character. Some schools have become more aware of the challenges faced by parents and are being more creative with their ideas, though. Some of the best alternative dress-up ideas I have seen in recent years are:

- Dress up as a word and ask people to guess your word

- Bring in a potato dressed as a book character

- Bedtime stories theme, children come in pyjamas etc with a teddy and a book to share

Unfortunately, until the shops change their tune and stop pushing their usual costumes on families in the lead up to the day, I fear that things will remain as they are.

In the spirit then of getting 'back to the books' and also continuing the theme of nostalgia from my last post, I am going to finish today by listing my top five books from when I was a child. It is interesting to see how some of these choices have dated more than others in the 40 or so years since I enjoyed them.

1. The Hungry Caterpillar. This will always be my favourite. I am at a loss to fully explain why I still love this one. It might be the fact that it was easy to remember and retell using just the pictures, or it might be the illustrations themselves. I love the illustrations in all of Eric Carle's books. I used to be quite evangelical about this book when I was a headteacher, as I wanted children to know how important it is to return to books that you love repeatedly.

2. The Indian in the Cupboard. Unfortunately, this one has not dated well, as it contains some outdated terms and some racial stereotyping. Its heart is definitely in the right place, though, and with a bit of a rewrite, it could be a hit again. It is about a boy called Omri who is given a magic medicine cupboard—anything that is put in there will come to life.

3. Danny Champion of the World. I have always advocated this one as a book for boys who 'don't like reading'. It's a proper boys' adventure, and with the relationship between the main character and his single parent, it's quite ahead of its time. I can still read it and love the fact that the moral is slightly tricky (doing bad things to bad people is okay).

4. The Children of Cherry Tree Farm. Even though this is an Enid Blyton book, I think it is still okay to read in 2025. It is about four city children who are sent to live in the countryside and their adventures with a wild man named Tammylan, who teaches them all about the wonders of the countryside. Not much really happens, but it is an incredibly evocative book, perfect for a nature lover.

5. Tootles the Taxi and other rhymes. This one was a Ladybird book and contained poems about different types of transport vehicles, each one given a name and personality like 'Tony the Tractor'. I think this book dates back to the fifties, but my copy would have been produced in the seventies. Lots of repetition again, great for re-reading. A modern day version of this one, with Ernest the e-bike etc. would be brilliant!

I would love to hear if others have any of the same books in their cupboard from their childhoods, and it would be lovely to hear about any other favourites too!