I expect many parents and carers were cursing Happy World Book Day this morning. Many parents have been coerced into buying expensive costumes for characters in books. Others have spent an inordinate amount of time creating a costume and props for their children.
Some families base their ideas of book characters on films and TV series so it's great when schools ask children to bring in the book their chosen character appears in. Although not practical if the book was loaned from a library.
As an author (although not of children's books) I find this rather dispiriting – we are supposed to be celebrating the love of books, sharing our favourites stories, introducing children to new authors via the voucher scheme.
However most of this will be lost in the parade of amazing and not so amazing costumes worn to school today.
It's dispiriting that many children own very few if any books. Hopefully they are taken to the library to discover a love of the written word and an introduction into different worlds. Yet libraries are being closed at an alarming rate.
I sincerely hope that children will enjoy the books available for their £1 voucher or that they use it for £1 off another book they would like to buy and read.
This year Harriet chose to print our covers of some of her favourite books and wrote a mini review inside each one. I doubt she'll win a prize but she has at least acted within the spirit of World Book Day.
Apologies for a grumpy post!