So yesterday was World Book Day yet again and all over the country thousands of Harry Potters, Hermione Wotchamacallits, and that Ginger one went into school dressed in badly made gowns carrying cheap plastic wands and wearing black National Health glasses from the 60s.
World Book Day has been going since 1923 when booksellers in Catalonia, Spain, had the idea of connecting 23 April and books. Vicente Clavel Andrés (no, me neither, no idea, Spanish though, deffo a Spaniard), a Valencian writer, believed that author Miguel de Cervantes should be honoured for all time. Now, I don't know about you but I've never read Don Quixote and I'm not sure that any seven-year-old ever has (or would) either judging by the lack of Don Quixotes and Sanchmo Panzas on their way to school yesterday morning. Originally, the celebration was on Cervantes’ birthday, 7 October, but was later changed to his death day on 23 April (quite a switcheroo there).
It was only in 1995 that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO - so that's what it stands for) officially designated 23 April as the date to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day which might explain why I never went to school dressed as Billy Bunter (Yaroo! I say old bean, is that a scrummy cake I spy? Bagsy the cherry on the top!) The date is also the death or birth anniversary of prominent authors including our own Billy Shakespeare, Wandering Willy Wordsworth, and such notables as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Robert Bridges and Michael Crichton (I bet there were plenty of Valeciraptors out and about yesterday - grooooowlll). Each year, UNESCO chooses a World Book Capital where activities are held and supported by the book industry. In 2018, Athens was chosen as the capital wherein books would be made accessible to all city residents, in other words, a library. Last year it was Sharjah (1001 Arabian nights springs to mind, Ali Babas abound). This year it's Kuala Lumpur and every single child (and many, many very silly childish adults) in the city went to school dressed as Harry Potter, Hermione Wotchamacallit, or that Ginger one.
Over 100 countries celebrate World Book Day. In the United Kingdom, it is celebrated every first Thursday in March because April often coincides with Easter (and too many Jesus's would be a health and safety risk - sandals and long dresses and all that) and 23 April is also the National Saint’s Day, specifically good old St. George (dragons, knights, maidens, white chargers etc, etc).
I get that it's a celebration of authors, illustrators and the importance of reading, but copyright? Copyright is dry, dry, dry, the stuff that literary agents and proofreaders are made of (mainly dust and know-it-all-ed-ness).
According to researchers, children who love reading are not only good readers, but they tend to develop a broader vocabulary and understand other cultures more easily. I think that 'other cultures' probably means (in this context) the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos. Alternatively, it could be any one of several million crumby Lego characters, very hungry caterpillars, Dogger (not to be confused with dogging), or (following on from that) that boy in a dress that David Walliams has confused all small boys who have 'mummy issues' with.
Kids are one thing, but dogs and cats quite another. Many dogs and cats were dressed as Harry Potter, Hermione Wotchamacallit, or that Ginger one by their totally sad pathetic owners. Guess what saddos? Dogs and cats dressing up despite the fact that no dog or cat has ever read a book in its life (or seven) seems ridiculous to me. Dogs will be okay with it (dogs are so stupid though), cats not so much. So watch out for cat shit in your slipper if you've dressed your pussy as Harry Potter, Hermione Wotchamacallit, or that bloody Ginger one (collars and cuffs anyone?).
Those dreaded statistical things from 2014 shows that one in five children in England cannot read well by the age of 11. Further research, conducted in 2015, found that similar percentages of 15-year-olds across the UK do not have a minimum level of literacy proficiency (although what the minimum is I have no idea). 18% of kids in England and Scotland, 15% in Northern Ireland and a whopping (Yarooo!) 21% in Wales. That's almost a fifth of all children wandering around dressed as Harry Potter, Hermione Wotchamacallit, or that Ginger one, who have no idea why or even who they are meant to be.
So there we have it, World Book Day (the World day that the UK celebrates at a different time to the rest of the world). So who would I be? After much thought, I think I'd like to be Stig Of The Dump. How about you?
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