The time has rolled around once again for another year celebrating World Book Day and Book Week. A chance for schools to celebrate creativity, make-believe and fun! People get into a right old tiz trying to find a costumes for a dressing up day like this. When working in As If By Magic, we would always advise a good rummage through the costumes to find something you like, then we’d all think up books to match it. So if you find yourself in a bind, try that!
Here’s a mix of characters and titles that might spark some ideas.
Aladdin – Traditional (Aladdin, the Princess, Genie)
Alice In Wonderland – Lewis Carroll (Alice, Mad Hatter, Tweedledum/Tweedledee, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, Cheshire Cat)
Aliens Love Underpants – an alien in some underpants, obviously! **new!**
Angelina Ballerina – Helen Craig and Katherine Holabird
Asterix – Asterix, Obelisk **new!**
The BFG – Roald Dahl (a giant or Sophie? or even The Queen?)
Bob the Builder
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne (thanks Beccy!)
Burglar Bill – Allan Ahlberg
The Cat In the Hat – The Cat, the children, Thing 1, Thing 2
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl (Charlie, Willy Wonka, Grandpa or an Oompa Loompa?)
Dictionary – wear all one colour and stick words/definitions over yourself?
Fantastic Mr Fox – Roald Dahl
Funny Bones
Gansta Granny – Granny!
Goldilocks – Goldie, a bear
The Gruffalo – The Gruffalo, his child, the fox, the owl, the snake, the mouse, the BIG bad mouse! **new!**
Harry Potter and the … – Harry, Hermione, Ron, Snape, Dumbledore, Voldemort, Hagrid, Luna Lovegood, Professor Lupin
His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman (Take a cuddly toy animal as your Daemon)
Horrid Henry – Francesca Simon
Jack and the Beanstalk – Jack, Daisy the cow, the Giant, the beanstalk itself
James and the Giant Peach – James, the Peach, the Centipede and numerous others
The Jolly Postman – Allen Ahlberg (Why not go as someone on his round?)
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - one of the children, Aslan, the White Queen, Mr Tumnus
Little Miss… – Sunshine, Naughty, Trouble, Chatterbox
Little Red Riding Hood – Traditional. (Little Red, the Wolf, or Grandma?)
Lord of the Rings – JR Tolkien (Where to start! Frodo, Bilbo, Legolas, Gollum, Gandalf)
Mary Poppins – Mary herself, Jane, Michael, Burt the Chimney Sweep
Meg and Mog – Helen Nicoll
Mr Men – Happy, Tickle, Topsy Turvy, Tall, Loud
Noddy – Enid Blyton (Noddy, Big Ears)
Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens (Oliver, Nancy, Fagin, the Artful Dodger)
Percy the Park Keeper – Nick Butterworth (thanks Sarah!)
Peter Pan – JM Barrie (Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, Smee, Tinkerbell)
Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter
Pinocchio - Pinocchio, Gepetto, Jiminy Cricket
Pippi Longstocking
Pocahontas – Joseph Bruchac
Puss In Boots – Traditional
Robin Hood
Room On The Broom – The Witch and the others!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves – Snow White, dwarf, wicked queen
The Snow Dog - The Snowman, the boy, the dog
The Snowman – The Snowman, the boy
Spot – Eric Carle
There’s a Viking In My Bed – Jeremy Strong
Thomas the Tank Engine – The Fat Controller, plus cardboar dboxes to make yourself into an engine **new!**
The Three Mustakeers – Alexandre Dumas
Tin Tin – Herge
Tracey Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson
The Twits – Roald Dahl
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – A caterpillar, a butterfly, a leaf, a piece of fruit, a piece of junk food!
Twilight – Stephanie Meyer (Pale up, fang up and look a little off kilt!)
Watership Down – Richard Adams (Here’s some inspiration!)
Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak (I saw the best Max costume from a paper-thin all in one boiler suit and some card claws and ears!)
Where’s Wally – Martin Handford (Wally or Waldorf?)
The Wind In the Willows – (Moley, Ratty, Badger, Mr Toad)?
Winnie The Witch
Where’s Wally – not just Wally! There’s Waldo, and the Wizard and lots of other recurring characters!
Winnie The Pooh – Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl and the rest!
The Wizard of Oz – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Professor Marvel, the Wicked Witch, Glinda the Good Witch
101 Dalmations – Dodie Smith (Cruella, a dalmation)? **updated!**