World Book Day Today!
The last few days, children will have been pulling at the pursestrings of parents asking for a certain Disney, Potter or Walliams costume. The Marvel and the Grey shaders will all assault the predictable but who has the last vote?
Last night, the supermarkets were inundated with requests for a second search round the back for the right size…. The passion, frustration and panic all visible in the aftermath of that all important purchase.
The school morning begins early and the obsessions creep over to breakfast and the tantrums of leaving for school.
The peer rivalry doesn’t begin or end with the children or teachers; parents, not all female are feeling the urge to compete and win the best dressed prize for their corner.
Do adults and children still read tradional, tangible books you ask?
Ebooks, apps and Kindles have taken over the printed page and the libraries are being added to the mass extinction of cultural retreats. the Government has cut many corners for education by introducing iPads to the classroom along with powerpoints to replace what many now call ‘chalkboards’ for fear of racism of all bizarre connections. Technology has its pros but the need for blackout screens at every class window means that education is at war with daylight and Vitamin D. The public health waiting list to address the impact of digital overload in children is another tragic tale for another page….
So, today children remember books, or at least their definition of books. Disney has Frozen the tunnels and assaulted literature by laying claim to Hans Christian Anderson’s original. No classic has been left untainted and all are renamed by Disney, The other trends also hang on the pop culture of parenting. Class divide unites in taste on many levels here and the old fashioned readers in adults and their children, watch in silence from the sidelines. A teacher doesn’t know who Tom Sawyer is when an excited dungareed boy arrives at school and his friends feel sorry for his casual attire.
When we choose to read, we have already filtered our preferences. When we are forced to read something, we judge what we already know and like. Modern life has become a material wasteland and books are seen as regression into archaic nostalgia. But, do you think a child in impoverished existence sees education and books in the same way as those in comfort zones?
Literature, the spoken word will always attract those who crave its power and shelter. The emoji society cannot take the written word away once you have consumed all it’s goodness and stored it behind your voice.
Adopt a preloved book today, caress the pages of history and passion. Read and feed your soul.
Happy World Book Days Everyday!
