According to the interview I heard this morning, it was the boys idea to dress up as the character, so my point is.....where does an 11 year old get the idea to dress up as a character from a book that he shouldn't be aware of in the first place ?
Could he perhaps, have seen the book somewhere....lets just say, for instance, around his own house ? If that was the case, was it a good idea to leave such a book around for a young boy to see ?
My Mum was an avid Agatha Christie fan, and her books were all over the house, but I suppose that isn't the same sort of thing.
And A J Cronin.
I remember when I was about 13, someone had a copy of a rather shabby and well-thumbed "Lady Chatterleys Lover" in the school playground, and I couldn't help noticing, that if you dropped the book on the ground, it always landed open at the same page ! I can't imagine why !