Lucinda's school, Nishimachi, had a "book parade" last week to celebrate International Children's Book Day. Every student and some of the staff dressed up as a favorite character and marched around the playground. There was one rule: You can't buy a costume, which thankfully eliminated most Disney characters.

Lucinda was, as you can see, Laura Ingalls.


Her costume was mercifully easy to put together: Lu chose one of her cotton, calico-like dresses from H&M, to which we added a white, collared shirt and an apron. Then I tied on her "sunbonnet," which Lucinda pulled forward to emphasize the tunnel-vision nature of 1870s sunbonnets and attitudes about girls' behavior, which Laura Ingalls intensely disliked.

The elementary principal, Julie Jackson-Jin, was Amelia Bedelia.


The drama teacher was a Wild Thing.



Here's Madeline and a dragon of some sort.



Maybe I could import this event to Seattle, whenever we return.