World Book Day

It’s hard to believe that World Book Day is twenty years old today. I remember the first year very well, as I thought my Deputy Head would pass out during the fancy dress parade of characters from children's books . My staff always entered into the spirit of the occasion with as much enthusiasm as the children. Three of them had dressed up as the characters from The Wizard of Oz and the role of the Scarecrow had fallen to my Deputy. Despite the fact that most of the contents of his straw-filled costume had left their own ‘yellow brick road’ all the way from the playground to the hall, he looked splendid. He had even gone as far as to insert a broomstick through the sleeves of his jacket, and it was this that almost proved to be his undoing. The parade of Alice in Wonderlands, fairies, witches, Bob the Builders - no Harry Potters in those days - was only half way through, when he started to droop. Luckily, help was at hand and the broomstick was quickly removed by the Cowardly Lion, before any serious damage was done. I was glad that I had chosen to come as the relatively safe, Mary Poppins. This morning, I was pleased to have received a World Book Day picture of a Megan Waterfield, the heroine of Past the Town of Tribulation & Straight on to Derring Do and Red Skye Sunset. She had even made a SMALL DOG life jacket for a toy cat. The cat did look suspiciously like a leopard, but then, Dotty's breed is descended from the Asian Leopard Cat, after all. Megan Waterfield’s log book was a lovely addition to the costume and featured real photographs of the yacht, Fiona. Many schools use World Book Day as an opportunity to raise funds for Book Aid International, a charity committed to changing lives by giving ‘everyone should have the opportunity to read. Access to books gives people the chance to shape their own futures. We exist to help more people discover the joy of reading and the opportunities it can bring.’ Last year, they supplied over one million new books to children in fourteen countries where access to books is limited. If you would like to find out more about this charity, please visit their website at http://www.bookaid.org/. As any of you who have heard me speak on the subject will know, I believe that reading is the key to learning … but then if you are reading this, I’m preaching to the converted.