Join in with World Book Day with the help of some very special OBP friends!

There are many ways to join in with World Book Day, as listed on their website here.

One thing we’ve been thinking about at Oscar’s Book Prize is who to discover and dress up as at home – especially if you can dress up and read together with someone else! Please read on for some suggestions – or pick one of your own!

 

1.  As we saw in the last post, Princess Beatrice recommends discovering Oi Frog by Kes Gray and Jim Field (Hodder Children’s Books).

Can you go green and become a frog for today? Or indeed a cat, hare…or any other creature. See if you can find a thing to sit on that rhymes with your chosen character! (Now, what rhymes with comfy cushion?)

(Oi Frog by Kes Gray and Jim Field is published by Hodder Children’s Books).

 

 

2.      Amazing author/illustrator of OBP20’s shortlisted book Alphonse, There’s Mud on the Ceiling Daisy Hirst said: ‘I’d love to see someone dressed up as Beegu from Alexis Deacon’s picture book. Bright yellow, long ears, three eyes... what more could you want? And the book is a wonder.’

We couldn’t agree more! And remember, Beegu is searching for friends – puppies, or people, so who else can dress up with you to join the gang? Or maybe you are Beegu’s family – the more yellow the better, we say…

(Beegu by Alexis Deacon is published by Red Fox)

 

 

3.      Jo Jeffery, Fundraising and Digital Officer for the brilliant charity Read for Good, and OBP21 longlist judge, said:

‘My go-to children's book has always been The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C S Lewis, so let's go full Snow Queen!’

Oooh yes! Will you summon your inner frost and turn someone else in the room into a stone statue? Or will someone else be the Snow Queen, and could you be Edmund, Lucy, or Mr Tumnus?

(The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is published by HarperCollins Children’s Books)

 

4.      Janet Noble, librarian extraordinaire and OBP21 longlist judge said:

‘I love the BFG ( Big Friendly Giant)! Not only does he give out good dreams to children and destroy their  bad ones , he also speaks a lovely, mashed up back-to-front language , called Gobblefunk, which the author  Roald Dahl created by playing around with  words.

Here are 5 of my favourite Gobblefunk words:

Delumptious

Delicious, as in, "Delumptious fizzy frobscottle..."

Hopscotchy

Cheerful, as in, “Whenever I is feeling a bit scrotty," the BFG said, “a few gollops of frobscottle is always making me hopscotchy again.”

Squibbling

Writing, as in "But I cannot be squibbling the whole gropefluncking dream on a titchy bit of paper."

Ucky-mucky

Messy, as in, "You will be coming to an ucky-mucky end if any of them should ever be getting his gogglers upon you."

Whoopsey-splunkers

Splendid, as in, “How whoopsey-splunkers! How absolutely squiffling! l is all of a stutter.” 

I've also attached a photo of myself dressed up as the BFG for last year's World Book Day!!!

It’s going to take a lot to match Janet’s awesome BFG! Thank you so much, Janet! And of course, where there’s a BFG there’s a Sophie! And the Queen… or perhaps one of the scary giants would be better? Everyone knows someone grumpy enough to be Fleshlumpeater…

(The BFG is published by Puffin, written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake)

5.      Meanwhile, Benji Davies, winner of Oscar’s Book Prize in both 2020 and 2014, has given us some very special inspiration: a brilliant drawing with his ideas of how to dress up as Noi from The Storm Whale and The Storm Whale in Winter!

Can you spot it on our social media later today?

(The Storm Whale by Benji Davies is published by Simon & Schuster)

 

6.      Just as excitingly, John Dougherty - who won OBP18 along with Laura Hughes for their fantastic book There’s A Pig Up My Nose! has sent us a fabulous video which will also be popping up on @oscarsbookprize on Twitter and Instagram very shortly!

Spoiler alert: he has chosen Millie’s Marvelllous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura (Andersen Press)

John definitely says it best – have a watch! I wonder what marvellous hats you could make?!

7.      And last but by no means least are the characters of choice from the Award’s co-founders, Oscar’s parents James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand.

A true Swedish patriot, and with excellent taste, Viveka chooses Pippi Longstocking (by Astrid Lindgren, published by OUP) – and in this edition is beautifully illustrated by Lauren Child, former Children’s Laureate and of course fabulous former OBP judge!)

 

James has chosen Charlie Bucket of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator (Puffin, illustrated by Quentin Blake). An excellent character choice. Especially if someone is willing to be Grandpa Joe or Willy Wonka. And EVEN better to create your own chocolate factory and combine books and sweets! Just be careful if you love chocolate as much as Augustus Gloop, especially if you have enough to make a chocolate river…