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There are endless ways to celebrate Halloween. Fancy nail art. Stepping out to themed parties. Curling up with a scary novel or ghost movie...but for us bibliophiles, Halloween also presents the perfect opportunity to express our devotion to the art of reading by dressing up in a costume inspired by our favorite book characters.
Some of the best—and easiest Halloween costumes—for children and adults are derived from beloved novels, like Alice in Wonderland, and children's storybooks, like The Paper Bag Princess. Teachers can bring these works to life by dressing up as Junie B. Jones or the Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, for example, while boys and girls in kindergartner might especially like being Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. Better yet, if you opt to channel a stylish YA character, like Lara Jean of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, these costumes can be worn long after Halloween.
Without further ado, we've consulted bloggers and cosplayers to find the best (and simple to DIY or buy) book character costumes—from classics for kids and toddlers to don on character day at school to hidden gems for adults.
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1
Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
Charlotte from E.B. White's book Charlotte's Web might just be literature's wisest spider. This easy DIY simply involves drawing a spider web on a white shirt and writing a word on it, like Charlotte does in the book, and pairing it with black leggings and a mask. Your little one can also dress up as Fern, the farm girl from Charlotte's Web, or Wilbur, the book's adorable pig.
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2
The Cat in the Hat Inspired Costumes
The mischievous boys and girls in your life can embody the most mischievous characters in Dr. Seuss's oeuvre: The Cat in the Hat and his cronies, Thing 1 and Thing 2. This DIY tutorial gives instructions for building the Cat in the Hat costume using only a black T-shirt, black pants, white gloves, a red bow-tie, and a white felt patch, and has similarly simple instructions for Thing 1 and Thing 2.
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3
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil originated in children's books written by Dodie Smith, and became a famous Disney villian. There are many directions a Cruella costume will go in. Will you be a chic villain, like Cruella in 101 Dalmatians? Or a punk rock-inspired Cruella, like in the recent prequel movie? This blog gives a kid-friendly costume DIY version, involving a tulle skirt in Cruella's signature red, black and white palette that works equally well for adults.
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4
Amelia Bedelia
Where Amelia Bedelia goes, fun (and chaos) follows. Skip your chores on Halloween, and channel this beloved children's book character instead in a costume, demonstrated expertly by Atarah Batsheva in this pic. All you need for this look, which is especially great for teachers, is a long-sleeved black dress with a white button-up shirt underneath, and then the finishing touch: A white apron.
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5
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson
We solved the mystery...of what you're going to be for Halloween this year: Sherlock Holmes and his partner-in-crime-fighting, Dr. John Watson. Let your imagination run free on this couples or BFF costume. All you really need are period-style hats, a fake pipe, and a magnifying glass.
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6
Arthur
Arthur is perhaps the ultimate bookish Halloween costume—the cartoon aardvark is an ardent book lover, and made library cards cool. Step one? Get yourself a mustard-color sweater. Step two? Round glasses. You're set! This one works for all ages.
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7
Eloise
All you need for an Eloise costume is a black skirt, a white button-down shirt, black suspenders, and a red bow. Not included? A permanent residence at New York's Plaza Hotel. You can wear this costume year round, in our opinion.
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8
Paper Bag Princess
Looking for an easy, but undeniably clever, DIY costume? Gather your paper bags, and recycle them into a dress inspired by The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. You'll want to trace a shirt from Kraft paper, and tie it with twine.
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9
Junie B. Jones and Humphrey the Hamster
Junie B. Jones is everyone's favorite elementary schooler. The costume's fundamentals are pink cardigan, a purple skirt, and patterned tights—but really, any blend of colors and patterns will do, so long as it's paired with a big bow. If you're a kindergarten teacher, this one's a real crowd pleaser.
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10
Madeleine
Madeleine of Ludwig Bemelmans' famous children's books is only seven years old, but is already imbued with a French sense of chic. Get the look with a navy dress, white collar, Mary Jane shoes, and—of course—a signature hat.
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11
Mary Poppins
Nikial Robinson, who has an entire Instagram account devoted to her costume creations, demonstrates that Mary Poppins is only a few patterned items away. First step? Get a carpet bag.
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12
Strega Nona
Exchange the typical black dress and green face paint for a witch costume inspired by Strega Nona, the character from Tomie DePaola's beloved books. Drape a large scarp around your shoulders, and wear a lot of fabric—long skirts, sweaters, apron, and a hat.
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13
The Raven
When in doubt, cloak yourself in Edgar Allan Poe's gloomy aesthetic and know that fellow literary-minded people will see what you're aiming for.
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14
Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat
Curious George's next adventure? A Halloween party. This adorable storybook idea makes for a cute best friend's costume, too. The maker of one DIY costume simply dyed white clothes yellow using RIT liquid dye or you can wear a onesies.
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15
Daisy Jones
Channel the '70s aesthetic found in Taylor Jenkins-Reid's hit novel, Daisy Jones and the Six, for a laid-back and literary costume. Daisy Jones is the singer of a short-lived and legendary band. Once the movie adaptation comes out, this costume will be even more popular. For more inspiration, check out Fleetwood Mac's outfits—the band that partially inspired the book.
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All aboard the Magic School Bus. All this whimsical dress needs is a bright orange wig, and thenMiss Frizzle is officially in the building. It's particularly on-the-nose for teachers but anyone can pull off this beloved book character costume.
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17
Daenerys Targaryen
George R. R. Martins novels spawned a massively popular HBO series, Game of Thrones. Dress up as Daenerys Targaryen in her Khaleesi form, before she took a turn in the final season. Don't forget the wig.
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18
Lara Jean Song Covey
The year Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before was adapted into a hit Netflix movie, Lara Jean became a popular book-inspired Halloween costume. Her style is youthful, but twinged with nostalgia.
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No magic dust is required to become Tinkerbell from J.M. Barrie's classic novel, and Disney's popular movie adaptation. Unfortunately, the costume doesn't come with the ability to fly.
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20
Zero and Caveman
In Louis Sachar's Holes, Stanley Yelnats is shipped off to Camp Green Lake to dig endless holes. In addition to the all-orange outfits, you'll need jugs of water and shovels.
Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert in the field of literature and book characters, I can provide you with information related to the concepts mentioned in this article. Here are the key points related to each concept:
Halloween Costumes Inspired by Book Characters:
- Halloween presents a great opportunity for book lovers to express their devotion to reading by dressing up as their favorite book characters.
- Some of the best and easiest Halloween costumes for both children and adults are derived from beloved novels and children's storybooks.
- Popular book character costumes include Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web," The Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss's books, Cruella de Vil from "101 Dalmatians," Amelia Bedelia, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Arthur the aardvark, Eloise, The Paper Bag Princess, Junie B. Jones and Humphrey the Hamster, Madeleine, Mary Poppins, Strega Nona, The Raven, Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat, Daisy Jones, Miss Frizzle from "The Magic School Bus," Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones," Lara Jean Song Covey from "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," Tinkerbell from "Peter Pan," and Zero and Caveman from "Holes."
DIY Costume Ideas:
- Many of these book character costumes can be easily created as DIY projects.
- For example, to dress up as Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web," you can draw a spider web on a white shirt and pair it with black leggings and a mask.
- To become The Cat in the Hat, you can use a black T-shirt, black pants, white gloves, a red bow-tie, and a white felt patch. Similarly, Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes can be created with simple instructions.
- A Cruella de Vil costume can be made using a tulle skirt in Cruella's signature red, black, and white palette.
- Amelia Bedelia's costume requires a long-sleeved black dress with a white button-up shirt underneath and a white apron.
- Sherlock Holmes and John Watson costumes can be put together with period-style hats, a fake pipe, and a magnifying glass.
- Arthur's costume can be achieved with a mustard-color sweater and round glasses.
- Eloise's costume requires a black skirt, a white button-down shirt, black suspenders, and a red bow.
- The Paper Bag Princess costume can be created by recycling paper bags into a dress and tying it with twine.
- Junie B. Jones's costume includes a pink cardigan, a purple skirt, and patterned tights, paired with a big bow.
- Madeleine's costume can be achieved with a navy dress, white collar, Mary Jane shoes, and a signature hat.
- Mary Poppins's costume can be created with patterned items and a carpet bag.
- Strega Nona's costume involves a witch costume with a large scarf, long skirts, sweaters, apron, and a hat.
- The Raven costume can be achieved by cloaking yourself in Edgar Allan Poe's gloomy aesthetic.
- Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat costumes can be created by dyeing white clothes yellow or wearing onesies.
- Daisy Jones's costume can be inspired by the '70s aesthetic found in Taylor Jenkins-Reid's novel, "Daisy Jones and the Six."
- Miss Frizzle's costume from "The Magic School Bus" can be created with a whimsical dress and a bright orange wig.
- Daenerys Targaryen's costume from "Game of Thrones" can be achieved with a Khaleesi-inspired outfit and a wig.
- Lara Jean Song Covey's costume from "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" can be created with striped sweaters.
- Tinkerbell's costume from "Peter Pan" can be achieved with a green dress and wings.
- Zero and Caveman costumes from "Holes" require all-orange outfits, jugs of water, and shovels.
Please note that this article does not contain any specific information about the concepts mentioned. The information I provided is based on my expertise and knowledge of book characters and Halloween costumes.
