“READING IS MY SECRET POWER”
YAAAY!!……It’s ‘BOOK WEEK’. The time of year when children get to play their favourite characters. Book week is usually held in Mid August and is a fun parade where your child has the opportunity to celebrate their favourite characters from a book they’ve read by dressing up and parading as them.
Fancy dress or Costumes, call it what you like.
Kids of all ages love to play dress ups whether it be a Nurse or Doctor, Doctor Seuss character, Princess, Frog, Pirate…’aaaaargh me hearties’, Robin Hood, Maid Marion, The Cat in the Hat, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fireman, Policeman, Kings and Queens. And the list goes on.
When the kids put on costumes, they benefit physically, emotionally, cognitively and of course, socially.
Only one thing to say about this…Mum and Dad, can we dress up in Costumes all the time please?
And why not! Grown ups get to do it lots more than kids!
Dress up play helps build vocabulary as they decide what their character would say. I have memories as a kid role playing a Nurse and talking to an imaginary patient.
They develop motor skills when putting on a costume, like tying on a pirates bandana or putting on an eyepatch, doing up zips and buttons.
Finding a costume can be a daunting task for some parents who are restricted with busy schedules, to try and find the time to even think about organizing a Book Week costume, especially with an abundance of book characters to choose from, let alone trying to find crafts and materials to sit up all night and create a book week costume for your child to wear, especially if you’re not that “crafty” person.
This article will help you and teachers who are dressing up in costume as well, with some really easy book week costume ideas , especially at the last minute, that are always a winner.
Alice In Wonderland Characters
When Alice falls into a large rabbit hole under a tree and emerges into a forest, she is greeted by the White Rabbit, the Doormouse, the Dodo, Talking Flowers, Tweedledum and Tweedledee. She has no idea what’s in store or who she’s going to meet next. So this book is a great choice for book week as there are so many characters to choose from. The Caterpillar, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter are some more popular ones. My little Chilli dog is looking as mad as a hatter 🙂
Peter Pan Characters
This classic Disney story has a vast array of fun characters your child can dress up as besides Peter Pan. There are The Lost Boys, Peter’s buddies and companions who are known for the animal pyjama costumes, so a onesie is a great idea.
Tiger Lily, she is the daughter of Great Big Little Panther, the chief of the tribe in Neverland, who is kidnapped by Captain Hook to find out where Peter Pan lives. So an beige fringed dress, a long black wig tied into pigtails with a headband and feather would be perfect. Top it off with a pair of slippers or ugg boots.
Tinker Bell is the cute but jealous and protective best friend of Peter Pan, who’s loyalty and dedication to him is everlasting. A green fairy dress, wand and hair pulled up into a bun high on top of the head. If your child’s hair isn’t long enough, a blonde wig tied up into a bun will look the part.
Captain Hook is always popular, Peter Pan‘s arch-enemy who lost his hand in a duel, that was eaten by a crocodile, who now follows him everywhere. A black curly with a red captain’s coat would suffice, don’t forget the hook hand though. There’s Captain Hook‘s crew as well. A simple pirate’s mate costume would suffice.
Harry Potter Characters
When it comes to book week ideas, Harry Potter would have to be one of the easiest and most popular choices, including Hermione Granger or Ron Weasley. But if you’re child doesn’t want to look like everyone else, steer away from this book week idea. Don’t forget though, there are the other Hogwart’s houses besides Gryffindor. You or your child could go as as their favourite character from Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, and love pretending to be in control of their magical powers within the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Cat In The Hat
Who doesn’t love a Dr Seuss story. With more than 60 books under his belt, the Cat In The Hat was the original. The fantasy, colours and rhyming paragraphs made reading these books appealing to all ages, including Adults (well speaking for myself anyway). All you needs is a Cat in the Hat hat, oversized bow tie, white gloves and a black tail. Simply wear all black underneath and perhaps draw on some whiskers with a makeup pencil.
Don’t forget that naughty cat’s friends, Thing 1 and Thing 2. They certainly found their secret powers when they had clean up the house before mum arrived home. Phew, just in the nick ‘o’ time. A crazy blue spikey wig and a Thing 1 or Thing 2 t-shirt with red gloves, or add a blue tutu and some stripey socks for the female version. If you want to really look the part then wearing the full costume and blue wig will look amazing.
Super Heroes or Villains
This year’s Book Week theme speaks for itself. All super heroes and villains have their own secret, well, not so secret powers and are all part of a book or comic, so i would take advantage of this idea because it’s very easy.
Some of the favourites are Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Thor, Bane, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Bat Girl and Captain Marvel. If you want to simplify it even more they could just wear a typical hero style mask and matching coloured cape
These ideas are quite common so if your child has a favourite book, i recommend they dress as a character from it for the Book Week parade. If your child is nonchalant about the whole thing then one of the above ideas is a great way to not have to think about it.
Book Week at Costume Wonderland, be there or be square….oh yes, lets not forget “Sponge Bob”
Check out our web site in the Adult Costumes and Kid’s Costumes sections for lots of fancy dress costume ideas for Book Week. If you can’t find anything that suits then simply give us a call, we can help you.
