I realise that there may be many people in the panic of creating a costume for tomorrow, as it is World Book Day and the tradition seems to have developed that this must mean we must dress as our favourite character to show we have read a book. However, I do think that it is more than that – and maybe we need to see past that.
A celebration of books and reading can surely only be a good thing. Anything that encourages people to read is a fabulous idea. Even if it is one of the only times of year people really think about books, at least they are. For me, it was always more a struggle of who is your favourite character; for my sister, it always seemed to be who is the most unusual character that she could go as (one year it was a skunk…), but what mattered was that we were thinking and talking about books.
There was always the eager anticipation of what we would spend our World Book Day book token on – never an easy decision, as we were all bookworms, but I take joy in thinking that token was like the golden ticket for Charlie Bucket, and it introduces children to a whole new world that can bring them happiness.
Of course, it’s not just about children. Quick Reads appear at this time of year by many of our bestselling authors, and this often encourages adults to read and try something new too – and one of the biggest adventures anyone can ever have is finding a new story to enjoy.
So, as the fancy dress panic begins to fade (for adults and children) and World Book Day leaves us for another year, think about the key message – how important it is that we all have an adventure in words!