As a parent I am thrilled that schools are ditching World Book Day costumes (2024)

“It’s almost time for World Book Day!” reads the school newsletter. And even though I write children’s books for a living, my first reaction is panic: as a family, we are not prepared.

Come the day itself, I will be going into a school to meet young readers. On the same morning, I will be shoehorning my two children into hastilyassembled costumes.Last year my daughter was Violet Baudelaire, from the Lemony Snicket books, as evidenced by a single hair ribbon, while my son refused to dress up at all (which did make things easier).

I was feeling pretty good until I logged onto Facebook and was met with a photo of a boy called James peering out from his three-foot wide papier-mâché giant peach. He may as well have been holding a sign that said, “Marianne you are a bad mother”.Then there will be the kids twirling about in their shop-bought costumes; bright and jolly confections of velcro and polyester. For a stressed-out parent, they’re the answer, right?

World Book Day sounds like a wholly good thing. The annual occasion on which children, teachers and parents come together to celebrate the joy of reading is desperately necessary. Despite 95 per cent of parents with children under seven knowing how crucial reading is, one in five children aged up to four have a book read to them less than once a month, according to a new report from the charity BookTrust.

With 20 per cent of families with children going hungry last month, according to The Food Foundation, many young people are entirely dependent on their schools to provide them with books and a warm place in which to read them – yet The National Literacy Trust reports that one in seven UK primary schools do not have a library or library space. Small wonder the same charity found that just two in five children said they enjoyed reading in their free time.

Why bother with reading? Because, as BookTrust says, children who read are more likely to make more progress across the school curriculum. They are likely to be happier and healthier. And they are more likely to overcome disadvantages caused by inequalities.

It is to this end that World Book Day, a charitable organisation, annually commissions stories from leading authors, so that children across the country can use one of its tokens – distributed through schools – to swap for their very own new book. Teachers across the country will be downloading free resources, some will host authors. Like many, my children’s school is encouraging students to dress up as their favourite book character.

It is, in itself, a lovely idea. Yet the reality can be rather different.

Go into Asda or Sainsbury’s right now and you will find an array of outfits on sale under the World Book Day banner, some related to books, others not. Even discounted, the outlay will be a minimum £10 per child. These are costumes that children will, understandably, desire, and might be alluring to parents, too, especially those who either can’t or don’t want to spend several nights crafting something from coat hangers and chicken wire (a category in which I very much include myself).

But given the cost of living crisis and the environmentally concerning throwaway nature of these clothes, putting pressure on families to buy these outfits feels wrong. Especially since, while this is money that is being spent, notionally, on celebrating World Book Day, every penny that goes on a costume is money that is not being spent on books.

Yet things may be changing. Chloe, 41, a mother of two from south London, says: “Our school has asked the children to come in their comfiest reading clothes and bring in their favourite book.

“My daughter’s disappointed,” she adds, “but I think it’s a great idea – parents already have a lot of admin and homework to juggle, and World Book Day has turned into an unnecessary stress and cost.

“There are always a few children with amazing costumes that make the rest of us feel like bad mothers. There are also always kids who haven’t got an outfit and just wear uniform and I don’t like to think of them feeling self-conscious.”

Similarly, Radio 4’s Moneybox Live presenter Felicity Hannah wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that instead of costumes, her children’s school is having a “Get Comfy and Read” day. “I love it! The money the parents will save and the waste that will be avoided.”

“This sounds like a brilliant initiative,” says children’s author Piers Torday, chairman of the Society of Authors Sustainability Committee. “National literacy celebrations should focus on passing on the joy of reading in creative ways and improving access for disadvantaged children, with minimal extra cost and waste for all involved.”

The dressing-up backlash has been brewing for a while; even pre-pandemic, some schools were asking kids to create their favourite character using a potato.

What’s more, even Sainsbury’s seems alert to the possibility of its outfits being problematic. It has introduced a section called “DIY costumes” to encourage the buying of components, rather than whole outfits. And a number of shops this year are selling character-themed pyjamas. No one needs to be sporting bookish PJs to enjoy a bedtime story, but at least they will be worn more than once.

“The headteacher told me she was expecting some parents to be unhappy about the change,” says Chloe. “I get that it’s fun to dress up, but there are other ways to celebrate. Our children have been invited to write a review of a book or make a prop instead, which seems much more do-able.”

Here is the message that has, perhaps, been lost in a sea of lurid nylon and elaborate papier maché; this World Book Day: you don’t need to spend money. Get to your local library, where you’ll find an abundance of children’s reading events delivered by brilliant librarians. Put your phone away for a few minutes and read to your child. Book swaps and charity shops are fantastic ways to find reading material; let your child choose the book they want, not the book you think they should have, because all reading is good. If they are really reluctant, the World Book Day website has free audio books to download. Read in front of your children, too; lead the way and they will follow.

And here’s the most important thing, which I say both as a passionate children’s author and a cash-strapped, time-poor parent: books are for every day, not just World Book Day. So, as Torday says, “Let’s keep the focus of World Book Day where it should be – on improving access to reading and developing literacy skills for the million children in this country who don’t even own a single book.”