G'day, parents and book week survivors. Let me guess. You have just received the note from school. Book week is arriving shortly. Your son has left his run until the absolute last minute, and now you are staring at the costume cupboard wondering what on earth to do. The Spiderman suit is right here to the rescue. But is it actually a good idea for book week? We are here to tell you that yes, mate, it absolutely is. And let us explain why.
The whole point of book week is to celebrate reading and to encourage kids to connect with characters from stories. Spiderman is not just a movie character. He did not start on a screen. Peter Parker was born on the page, in the pages of Marvel comics, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko back in 1962. That makes Spiderman a literary character, plain and simple. Your son would be dressing as a hero from a comic book, which is a perfectly valid and wonderful form of literature.
The real beauty of sending your son as Spiderman is the genuine enthusiasm it will bring. Let us be honest with ourselves. A lot of book week costumes are chosen by parents, not by kids. You have got little ones dressed as obscure characters from classic novels that they have never actually read, all because Mum wanted a photo opportunity. That is not the spirit of the event. Book week should be fun. It should be about getting kids excited about stories. And when your son puts on that red and blue suit with the web pattern and the mask with the big white eyes, he will be excited. He will feel cool.
There are practical benefits, too. A Spiderman suit is comfortable. It is usually made from soft, stretchy fabric that allows a kid to run, sit on the mat, eat their lunch, and participate in all the book week activities without complaint. There are no scratchy collars, no falling capes, no hats that slide over the eyes. The mask can be worn on top of the head when the teacher is reading aloud and pulled down during the parade.
Some parents will tell you that Spiderman is too obvious, too commercial, not literary enough. Ignore them. Those are the same parents who spend three weeks hand stitching a Tudor gown for a five year old who would rather be playing in the sandpit. Book week is for the kids, not for the parent Instagram feed. So zip your son into that Spiderman suit, clip on a small copy of a Spiderman comic book if you want to be extra clever, and send him off with a high five. He will have a blast.