Over three quarters of parents feel pressure to deliver the best World Book Day costume, with 6% being driven to tears

Harry Potter is revealed as the most popular World Book Day costume, as over three quarters of parents admit to feeling pressure to deliver the best costume at the school gates

• Even after nearly 25 years the most popular character for children to dress up as on World Book Day is Harry Potter (32%), followed by Cinderella (19%) and Matilda (14%)

• 81% of parents feel pressure to deliver a good World Book Day costume, with over a fifth (22%) of parents finding the preparations more overwhelming than getting ready for the first day of school after the holidays

• Tu has the most popular character costumes available - helping parents who are stuck for inspiration, time or sewing skills!

Ahead of the 25th Anniversary of World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March 2022, new research from Tu reveals that Harry Potter (32%), Cinderella (19%), and Matilda(14%) are the story characters that British school kids most want to dress up as for the event. 

This comes as no surprise as the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling was also found to be children’s firm favourite book (17%), showing that the wizarding world is still capturing imaginations since its release almost 25 years ago.

World Book Day celebrates the power of storytelling and encourages children across the nation to read more. Nearly a quarter (23%) of parents said their child spends between thirty minutes and an hour reading with them every week.  Almost two thirds (63%) of parents think this is less time than they spent reading with a guardian at their age. However, independent reading appears to be more popular with today’s primary school children, with one in five reporting solo reading sessions between an hour and an hour and a half each week.

World Book Day is about inspiring more children to read, and three quarters (76%) of parents believe dressing up helps achieve this. While children love dressing up, 81% of parents admit to feeling the pressure to deliver a good costume, and over a fifth (22%) find last-minute costume sourcing more overwhelming than getting ready for the first day of school after the holidays.

Whilst children preferred costumes based on their favourite book characters, over half (54%) of parents admitted to choosing one for their child simply because it was easier for them to prepare.  Nearly half (45%) of parents choose to purchase a new costume, while over a quarter (26%) reuse one they bought before.

During costume preparations, a quarter of parents (24%) scour the house to find something to repurpose, with 14% throwing one together the night before in a process that involves swearing (12%), calling in help from a family member or friend (21%), and even shedding a tear (6%).  And crafty creators have admitted to improvising to construct a costume, using old cardboard boxes (21%), as well as bin bags (15%), tin foil and left-over wrapping paper (14%).  11% even turn to the bin for resources. 

To help bring stories to life and save the last minute rubbish rummaging, Tu has the most popular character costumes available so that parents can relax and focus on the purpose of World Book Day – to share the magic of storytelling with their children and inspire them to continue their reading journey, with stories new or old. World Book Day tokens are redeemable in Sainsbury’s stores to discover one of the new and exclusive books. The tokens also offer the opportunity to get £1 off any full price book or audiobook. The promotion is running in-store only until Sunday 27thMarch 2022.

Emma Benjafield, Head of Product at Tu Clothing, said “World Book Day is loved by children up and down the country, and is all the more special this year as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. We are so thrilled to be a partner of World Book Day once again and to be accepting their tokens for children to explore new and exclusive books.

‘‘While it’s an exciting time for children, I also know from speaking to many parents that the costume preparations can be a little daunting! Whether it’s a last-minute dash or a carefully considered choice, we can offer a helping hand with a variety of costumes that help bring children’s favourite stories to life.  This World Book Day we’re encouraging children and parents to continue to discover magical stories, from the classics to new favourites, and inspire a life-long love of reading.”

Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day said: “Dressing up is a fun and hugely popular way to encourage reluctant readers to start reading, while children also tell us they find it a great way to find out what to read next. Giving children the chance to talk about what they’re reading and the characters they love is a big part of what makes World Book Day work, so we’re looking forward to seeing the costumes that get children excited about reading on World Book Day’s 25th birthday.”

Top 10 costume choices for World Book Day

Children’s top 10 classic children’s stories

Tu has a great variety of costumes which can remove the stress and allow more time for the purpose of World Book Day – to inspire a love of reading! The full selection can be found on the website here