30 of the best Book Week costumes – including easy DIY hacks!
Need inspo for Book Week? Relax, we’ve got you covered.
Book Week is supposed to be all about children celebrating books and encouraging reading but for parents the meaning can get lost as they scramble to come up with a costume that’s quick, easy, looks amazing and is cheap too.
Don’t stress! We’ve rounded up the coolest DIY costumes that you can easily pull together, even at the last minute.
Book Week 2024: Reading is Magic
The official dates for Book Week 2024 are the August 17 to August 23, 2024. The Children’s Book Council of Australia has announced the 2024 Children’s Book Week theme is Reading is Magic. The theme celebrates reading stories and their amazing power to transport minds.
“We are encouraging kids to be curious about the wonders in our world. It is a positive and affirming message for our young people,” shares the Children’s Book Council of Australia.
“The magic of reading also lies in its power of enticement; a good story provokes conversations. Talking about the stories with others connects the reader with other readers. Wrapped around all of this are the ‘tricks’ and skills of our amazing writers and illustrators, as they use all their powers of language and illustration to engage the reader in this world they are building.”
The best costumes for Book Week 2024
Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo
Your little one can dress as artist Frida Kahlo with a floral headpiece and some chunky jewellery. Don’t forget to create a monobrow using a brow pencil!
The Little People, Big Dreams series all tell the story of outstanding people from designers and artists to scientists. Other books include Mahatma Gandhi, Aretha Franklin, Captain Tom Moore, Amelia Earhart and many more.
How the Birds Got Their Colours – Tales from the Australian Dreamtime
Get crafty with some coloured felt to create a bird mask and some wings. Use craft glue to join your masterpiece together.
Bad Guys
Dress your child in a black suit and tie and add a white shirt.
On a large piece of white cardboard draw Mr Wolf and Mr Shark. Use a black texta to highlight their mouth, nose and eyebrows.
White styrofoam balls, available at craft stores, can be used for the eyes. Add black circles for pupils and secure the balls to cardboard with glue.
Fox in Socks
Your little one will be easily transformed into Fox from Dr Seuss’s Fox in Socks.
Dress your child in a red T-shirt with a white long-sleeved tee underneath. Add red leggings and create a tail using red material.
Pop a pair of fluffy blue socks their hands and feet. White bunny ears can be transformed into fox ears with some fluffy plush fabric.
Finally, get arty with facepaint to pull off Fox’s face.
The Snail and the Whale
To create this adorable snail costume, you’ll need a long piece of brown paper or gold fabric which you can roll and scrunch into a coil.
Cut out a large square piece of cardboard and secure two arm straps to either side. Glue the large coil onto the cardboard square.
Snail antlers can be mail from the brown paper and attached to a headband. Glue yellow fluffy fabric to the ends and add black circles.
Dress your little one in all white or gold and add a long piece of material at the back to be the snail tail.
Macca the Alpaca and Dharma the Llama
Glue guns at the ready!
To create Macca the Alpaca you’ll need loads of white cotton balls and for Dharma the Llama stock up on orange wool!
The head pieces for both characters can be made from cardboard.
With your glue gun handy secure cotton balls head-to-toe to make Macca and then stick length of orange wool on an outfit for Dharma.
Add black gloves and shoes to both outfits and you’re done!
No One Likes A Fart
While no one likes a fart, we do LOVE this costume.
Best of all it’s pretty easy to whip up.
To make the fart you will need a large piece of cardboard cut-out into a cloud shape.
Glue loads of cotton wools onto the cardboard but first dip the top of the cotton wool ball into some murky yellowish paint.
Make the eyes, eyebrows and mouth from black felt or use black and white carboard and stick on with glue.
Add a neck strap and sling it over your child’s head and your little stinker is ready!
Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2
Double the fun! The perfect costume for siblings or class buddies.
For starters, you’ll need two red t-shirts. Stick a large round white circle with number ‘1’ in the centre of one and number ‘2’ in the centre of the other tee.
A quick dash to a variety store or Spotlight can help with the blue fluffy material for the hat and some strips of blue tulle can be added to a red tutu skirt.
Two cute!
Do Not Open This Book
Create the starring character from Andy Lee’s hit book with some paint, cardboard and some mad art skills.
Add a strap to secure around the neck, dress your child in blue and ta-da you’re done.
Stick Man
Who knew brown cardboard could come in so handy?
Dress your child in brown and then add cardboard to their shins, forearms and middle.
Create the stickman head with a larger piece of rolled carboard – ensure it can squeeze onto your child’s head – and add the face.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
If your son has a plain white tee and a pair of black shorts all you’ll to dress up as main character, Greg Heffley, is some white cardboard, a black texta and a pair of scissors. Oh, some arty skills will help you out too.
Fancy Nancy
Fancy Nancy dresses extravagantly so raid your daughter’s accessories and go crazy. Think feather boas, tutus, ruby slippers, fairy wings… go completely and totally extra.
The Lorax
First step is to dress your child in head-to-toe orange. Then, use a black texta to write, “I Speak For The Trees” on the tee. Finally, hit up your local craft store for some plastic orange glasses and yellow cardboard to make the wild eyebrows and moustache.
Where’s Wally
If your child doesn’t already own a red and white stripe tee, you could paint red stripes. Then add a blue skirt or a pair of jeans on the bottom half. Your bargain store should have black round glasses. Finish the look with a red and white beanie.
Thelma the Unicorn
If your daughter loves pink and unicorns, this costume is a total no-brainer. A pink top and pants with a unicorn headband and you’re done.
Pete the Cat
A yellow long-sleeved t-shirt can be transformed into a Pete the Cat oufit by using coloured paints for the large buttons. Add a pair of skinny blue jeans and some Converse sneakers and you’re almost done… the finishing touch is a black beanie with cat ears or buy a cat ears headband at a bargain store.
The Day the Crayons Quit
Crazy and cool! Simply dress your child head-to-toe in their favourite colour. Some black tape can be used around the ankles and wrists. And print some Crayola signs to secure to the tummy area. Use coloured hair spray (and your own styling skills) to send your child’s hair skyward.
Winnie the Pooh
This is next-level cute. Simply pop a red tee over a long-sleeved yellow t-shirt. Use fabric paint to write, “Pooh”. Add a yellow tutu and secure pigtails with circular yellow cardboard, for Pooh’s ears of course.
The Adventures of TinTin and Matilda
Need to sort outfits for siblings? Dress your little man as TinTin by pairing a white collared shirt with a blue juumper. Add some brown pants and a white toy dog. Add some gel to spike up the hair at the front and he is good to go. Dress your little Matilda in a blue dress and white cardigan. Finish off with a red bow and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes.
Where Is The Green Sheep?
Now this costume is easy but time consuming. Once you’ve finished dipping loads of cotton balls in green paint, leave them to dry. Then, use craft glue to stick them onto a over-sized t-shirt. Used cardboard to make the sheep’s head and ears and cover with green cotton balls. Pop the “woolly” tee over a green long-sleeved t-shirt and you’re done. You better baaaa-lieve it!
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Need a quick costume at the last minute? This Dr Seuss themed-look is it! Cut-out cardboard fishes; add eyes and stick them to the front of a yellow shirt. Effective and oh so cute!
Minecraft
If your child is Minecraft obsessed they are old enough to do the craft work necessary for this Steve costume. A pixelated face can be easily made by painting loads of paper square pieces. Glue them on a box and create peep holes for eyes.
Charlotte’s Web
Recreate this look for your little Charlotte’s Web fan with a white circular tablecloth. Cut a hole in the centre for your child’s head. Then using black yarn, or a black texta create the web. Finish the web by securing a plastic black spider.
Captain Underpants
Raid hubby’s draw for a pair of white pants and draw the initials C.U. onto them. Add a white singlet over a long-sleeved tee with a red cape and socks. Use your creative skills to make a Captain Underpants cardboard mask and pop a plunger into your child’s hand and ta-da, you’ve made a hilarious and easy costume.
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy
This outfit is pawfect! Black headband ears, a black bowtie for a collar and a black long-sleeved tee with a red paper, Hairy Maclary name tag. Finish the outfit by showing off your dazzling face-painting skills.
The 13-Storey Treehouse
Disclaimer: You do need to be a bit crafty for this costume! Make a headpiece and stick plastic leaves onto it. Secure onto your child’s head by using a tie under the chine. Top off with a brown cardboard roof. Paint a singlet dress brown for the tree trunk and glue on some extra leaves. Amazing!
Mr. Messy
This one is cool. You’ll need a large sheet of white paper. Cut out two cloud shapes for the front and back of the costume. Use red paint for the “mess” and add eyes and a smile with black paint. Secure the cloud shapes together with yarn and Mr. Messy is complete.
Alice-Miranda at School
Well, wouldn’t it be handy if your daughter wore a similar school uniform!? This one’s a cinch to recreate. Pair a tartan or plain black skirt with a blue cardigan. Then add a shirt with a red tie and a headband. And full marks to you.
The Hungry Little Caterpillar
Like the caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly, you CAN do this! All your need to do is cut-out four green cardboard circles and glue them together. Create some caterpillar feet and glue these on too. Use string to secure the “caterpillar body” to your child. Using a red plastic plate, stick on the eyes, mouth and ears with yellow, green and purple paper. Use scissors to carefully mark out eye holes and secure with an elastic. Beautiful!
Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz
Kimmie from (@that.bambam.life_) used her Cricut cutting machine to bring the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz to life for her daughter.
“Kayla has a grey dress in her wardrobe so this formed the base of our costume,” says Kimmie.
“I used a heart shape on Design Space and tweaked the sizing to fit Kayla’s dress and cut it with my Cricut Explore Air.
“I positioned the heart on the dress and put a piece of baking paper over the top to hold my design down. Then I used the Cricut Easy Press to iron the heart onto the dress.”
Then, along with some toilet paper arts and crafts for her hat, the Tin Man costume quickly came together and was super easy!
