The joys of World Book Day

Just as I feel I’m getting into a nice school routine with DD, knowing which homework to do on what day, for example, packing her off with the right kit and picking her up at the right time, the school throws a curve ball that knocks me right off track.

It came this week in the form of an email from our class rep stating that the children must attend school on World Book Day next week dressed as their favourite book character. Furthermore, the character couldn’t be from a TV or film that had spun off into a book; it had to have originated as a book.

Of course I’d heard of the horrors of Book Day from parents of older children but I’d somehow hoped that, like sending kids up chimneys, it would be abolished before my turn came to create a fancy-dress costume from two tissues, an old roller blind and a Cornflakes packet.

Lola - cute, wholesome and free.

 

Sadly not. And let’s face it, when it comes to anything that involves creativity of the arts and crafts variety, I’m as useful as a juniper berry in a French vineyard. Still, procrastinating does not a Little Red Riding Hood costume make, so I started by trawling the internet for ideas.

I presented DD with the following list, all of which I thought I could achieve with minimal effort and a stiff g&t: Little Red Riding Hood, the cat in the hat, Daisy from the Kes Gray books, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella (rags or riches), the ugly sisters, Rapunzel (I even offered to buy a Rapunzel wig!), Milly Molly Mandy, Darrell from Malory Towers, a pirate from Peter Pan (given she already has a pirate costume), Burglar Bill, Mr Strong, Little Miss Sunshine, Angelina Ballerina, Judy Moody, Lola from Charlie & Lola, and, finally, Little Princess.

DD was unimpressed.

“Hannah Montana?” she asked. Banned: Television before book.

“A Teletubby?” Ditto.

“Barney?” Ditto.

“Oh alright,” she sighed. “I’ll go as the Little Princess.” (I just know she was thinking about the red shoes from “I Want New Shoes”.)

But Little Princess is really aimed at three-year-olds. I realised DD would be a laughing stock among the girls of her class who, being 7 going on 17, will no doubt be coming as something from Sweet Valley High or, worse, The Vampire Diaries.

In desperation, I presented her with the iPad and let her trawl Amazon for ideas. After much deliberation she chose a flammable, nylon Dorothy costume from The Wizard of Oz (it’s the ruby slippers, I’m telling you) that would cost £20 to buy, plus the hire of a private jet to ship it over in time.  

£20's worth of flammable Dorothy costume

 

Maybe we’ll discover tonight that Dorothy’s “out of stock”. I still have high hopes for Lola (bunches, hair clips, pinafore – cute, wholesome, free). How about you?