I think I'm about to attend my last Book Week parade.
My son is in year 6 and his parade is on Tuesday. (Not officially in Book Week, but a crafty strategy by the school, I'm sure, to give us all an extra weekend to get ready.)
My daughter is in year 10 and they still do Book Week costumes at her school, which I love. As kids get older, they seem to like dressing up in groups, as if there's safety in numbers. Like a bunch of Where's Wallys or a gaggle of Minions. They just don't do parades in high school.
(What I don't love is my daughter telling me the night before that she needs to go as a Smurf the next day for this year's Book Week, which was on Friday. And after I start to melt down, she also sends me a reel of comedian Tim Collins as an unhinged mum also being told the night before that Book Week is the next day.
"It's nine o'clock? Where am I going to get a Gollum costume at this hour?......Here, I've just cut two holes in my good sheets. You can go as Casper the Friendly Ghost...."
So funny. Well, not at the time. But later.
Anyway, the solution for the Smurf costume was a rush trip to get a blue T-shirt from Kmart as soon as the doors opened at 8am on Friday. She teamed that with some white pants and her friend brought her a white beanie to wear. Phew.)
To be honest, with more time and notice, I've actually loved helping my kids with their Book Week costumes, especially when they were younger and more malleable. Meaning, I could get them to go as the character I wanted, who was actually from a book rather than from a movie or TV show.
We've had some bangers over the years. And not all have been my suggestions.
Ginger Meggs, Mary Poppins, Wal from Footrot Flats (complete with drawn-on chest hair), Dr Who, Enola Holmes, Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Violet from A Series of Unfortunate Events and Moody Margaret from the Horrid Henry series. Everything was improvised, usually with second-hand finds from Vinnies.
One of my favourite Book Weeks was 2024 when my son painted a recycled cardboard box and went as Mr Strong.
The past couple of years, he's wanted to choose his own characters. I tried for Asterix last year but instead he and his mates wanted to go as Minions, with one of them dressing up as a particularly brilliant Gru. So I lost that battle but was kind of glad because the boys had so much fun.
And this year, on Tuesday, my son will be walking around the playground in the annual Book Week parade as that well known literary character....Travis Head, the Australian cricketer. For the record, there have been books written about Trav, for kids and adults. So he totally counts as a Book Week character. I've given up fighting the point.
My son is obsessed with cricket, so I'm glad he's honouring his passion. For the parade, he'll wear his cricket playing pants, a white shirt from Vinnies and a fake baggy green. Not sure how to make the moustache, but we still have the weekend to think about it.
There is just something magical about Book Week and the annual parade.
I love seeing the kids cheer for each other and give each other a high-five as each year group takes its turn parading around the playground. And the teachers always put in a massive effort with their costumes and look incredible. It goes without saying that Book Week reminds us all to get off our screens and go read a book.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn got into the spirit of Book Week 2026 when she attended a parade at St Thomas More's Primary School in Campbell, wearing a whimsical wattle crown.
"As patron of the Children's Book Council of Australia, and the National and State Libraries Australasia, I just love to celebrate books, reading, and the places that, like libraries, hold all of our stories," Ms Mostyn said.
"Children's Book Week is another very important chapter in the story of Australia's love of reading."
In the end, for me, the final primary school Book Week parade feels a little bit like a farewell to childhood innocence; to the magic of make-believe and imagination. Embrace it while you can.
