Costume drama

THE title of the popular school dressing-up day is World Book Day. Horrid Henry, Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland are books for children. Edward Scissorhands and Donald Trump — both of which have inspired children’s costumes — are not. The A-Z is one, I suppose, though not literature and Dennis the Menace is a comic, so I will allow that.

All this is not very educational, which is the point of the special day. The aim is to foster a love of books.

Most of the costumes one sees these days are bought, not made by parents or grandparents. At my grandson’s school it’s generally a chance for the girls to dress as Disney princesses and for the boys to dress as superheroes. It is another chance for shops to make money.

No wonder reading is becoming a minority pastime when TV and film characters are so popular. Everyone needs to work harder to make books appealing to children. In future, children should dress up as book characters, not the latest U. S. president or film character.

MARGARET THOMAS, Romsey, Hants.