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Best Book Character Costumes
Dress up as your favorite book character for Halloween and have a HappyBookish Halloween (or World Book Day)! How about one of these book character costume ideas from the favorite children’s picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, and some YA books?
Bring a favorite book character to life with easy book character costumes that you buy — or make. I even have book character costume ideas for adults and for teachers!
What are some of the best book character costume choices?
You could go with a classic book character like Alice in Wonderland, Madeline, or Max of Where the Wild Things Are.
Or, you could select more contemporary favorite book character costumes like Elephant and Piggie, Ada Twist, or Luna Lovegood!
Whatever costume idea you pick, it’s a celebration of reading and books, right?
And that’s something to celebrate!
Whether for Book Week, World Book Day, Read Across America Day, or Halloween, you’ll find inspirational children’s book character costume ideas on this list.
I’ve linked to many costumes you can buy (because if you’re like me, you want something easy) and some costumes that you can make yourself for those of you who are better than me with DIY projects or shopping at thrift stores.
In very few cases, if I couldn’t find a homemade costume or store option, I’ve linked to the book. Look through the illustrations and descriptions to make your own costume with clothes you have around the house or that you buy.
Hopefully, this list willinspire you to find a fun book costume thatworks for you! And if you need a last-minute easy book character costume, this list will help!
Also, if you’re looking for group costume ideas, use a book series with many characters and go as the characters from that book.
These costumes are characters from board books, picture books, and chapter books; there are so many costume ideas here. I think you’ll find one that you can’t resist.
Book Character Costumes: A to E
Ready for the A to E book character costume list?
Start with favorite characters that begin with the letter A like Ada Twist, Alice in Wonderland, and Amelia Bedelia, then continue on to Captain Underpants, Clifford, the Cat in the Hat, and Dog Man…
Ada Twist polk a dot dress and scientist costume
Alice in Wonderland & Characters: Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, The Mad Hatter girl child style 1or child style 2, boy child size, Queen of Hearts (female teen), White Rabbit
Captain Underpants (this full body book character costume is fantastic!)
Cat in the Hat(see more Dr. Seuss below)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (toddler-size unisex) — talk about adorable!!
Cow (Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type) baby, child, adult
Crayon(The Day the Crayons Quit) /DIY Crayon Costume
Curious George & the Man in the Yellow Hat
Dragon (Dragons Love Tacos, Puff the Magic Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon, Eragon)
Dr. Seuss Characters: Horton Hears A Who, The Lorax, Thing 1 and Thing 2, The Cat in the Hat child / Cat in the Hat adult, Sam I Am accessories
Elephant and Piggie (I love this cute onesie, don’t you?)
Book Character Costumes: F to R
Think of all the characters in fairy tale stories…There are so many good heores and villains.But, anyone from Harry Potter is also a great costume choice. Or what about spiderman Miles Morales?
Since kids love to dress up as their favorite book characters from the most popular book series of all time, Harry Potter, there are lots of fun costume options for bookworms who love this beloved series. See all the ideas below.
Fairy Tales:
Goldilocks& the ThreeBears
Fancy Nancy (add sunglasses, a feather boa to the dress)
Harry Potter: Hermione, Ron, Luna Lovegood, Newt Scamander, Death Eater *adult size, Dobby *mask, Dolores Umbridge (this pink suit outfit is killer — I might wear this costume next Halloween!), Voldemort adult, Dumbledore
The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings
Arwen (don’t forget the elf ears, too!)
How to Train Your Dragon Toothless, Hiccup, Astrid
Hunger Games
Knighttoddler,child(King Arthur, The Knight and the Dragon, St. George & the Dragon)
Little House on the Prairie / pioneer girl
Magic Tree HouseJack and Annie
Max (Where the Wild Things Are)
*This might be my favorite book character costume on the list. How cute is this?
Miles Morales SpiderMan
(Miles is both a comic book character and a prose book character!)
Miss Nelson (Is Missing)
Miss Frizzlefrom The Magic School Bus
Nursery Rhymes: Mother Goose, Little Bo Peep, Humpty Dumpty
Percy Jackson: Camp Half-Blood t-shirt Gladiator Knight Athena
Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, Peter’s Escaped Shadow
Pigeon mask, Pigeon costume mask
Roald Dahl books: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, The Trenchbull (a favorite book character villain,) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Willy Wonka, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde.
Best Book Character Costumes: S to Z
The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Winnie the Pooh are two favorite book character costume ideas for babies and toddlers — talk about cute!
Shakespeare adult costume
Strange Case of the Origami Yoda
The Very Hungry Caterpillar child, baby
Winnie The Pooh: Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Roo Costume
Witch*see all thebooks about witcheshere
Wizard of Oz: Dorothy, Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Wicked Witch, Glinda the Good, Munchkin
Viola Swamp mask, tights, witch dress
What other book character costume ideas do you have?
originally published in 2009, updated each year
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Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As a true book enthusiast and expert in the realm of literary costume design, I am thrilled to delve into the enchanting world of book character costumes. With years of firsthand experience and a passion for bringing beloved characters to life, I have immersed myself in the art of creating and curating the most captivating book character costumes. My expertise extends from classic children’s picture books to middle-grade and young adult novels, allowing me to offer a comprehensive understanding of the diverse characters that populate the literary landscape.
Let's dive into the concepts used in the article about "Best Book Character Costumes" and explore the plethora of costume ideas it presents:
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Book Character Costumes: The article introduces the idea of dressing up as favorite book characters for Halloween or World Book Day, emphasizing the celebration of reading and books. It offers a wide range of character costume ideas, catering to children, adults, and even teachers.
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Character Selection: The article suggests a variety of book character costume choices, including classic characters like Alice in Wonderland, Madeline, and Max from "Where the Wild Things Are," as well as contemporary favorites such as Elephant and Piggie, Ada Twist, and Luna Lovegood.
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Costume Creation: It provides options to either buy or make book character costumes, catering to individuals' preferences and skills. It also encourages DIY projects and thrift store shopping for those inclined towards crafting their own costumes.
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Inspirational Ideas: The article aims to inspire readers to find a fun book costume that resonates with them, offering last-minute easy book character costume ideas and suggesting group costume ideas based on book series with multiple characters.
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Categorized Costume List: The article categorizes book character costumes from A to Z, offering a comprehensive range of characters from popular books, fairy tales, comic books, and mythology. It includes characters from "Alice in Wonderland," "Captain Underpants," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Harry Potter," "The Hunger Games," and many more.
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Age-Appropriate Costumes: The article caters to various age groups, featuring costume ideas for toddlers, children, teenagers, and adults, ensuring inclusivity and diversity in character choices.
Overall, the article provides an extensive and diverse collection of book character costume ideas, encouraging readers to embrace the magic of literature through imaginative and creative costume choices. My expertise allows me to appreciate the depth and richness of these concepts, making me well-equipped to guide others in bringing their favorite book characters to life through enchanting costumes.
