This year, The Children’s Book Council of Australia is promoting the theme Reading is Magic. With events taking in place in schools from 17—23 August, we’ve put together some Book Week costume ideas in collaboration with our friends at Modo Life Variety Store.
Heroes and protagonists
Every child has the power to be a hero. With a broad range of superheroes out there, you can draw inspiration from Marvel and DC comics, with characters like Captain Marvel, Spider-Man and Batman. Even The Hulk has deeper origins in literature, based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
If your child prefers non-conventional heroes, there are also inspiring characters from young adult fiction to look to — like Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan, Tris and Four from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, or Clary Fray and Jace Herondale from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.
Disney characters
Many Disney films are adaptations of classic stories and fairytales. The Little Mermaid and Frozen are both loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen tales, Peter Pan was written by J. M. Barrie, Beauty and The Beast and The Sleeping Beauty are old French fables, Aladdin comes from the Middle Eastern folktales One Thousand and One Nights, and Snow White, Tangled and The Princess and The Frog can all be traced back to The Brothers Grimm.
Shakespearian adaptations
You may not know some of our favourite children’s characters are influenced by the works of the legendary William Shakespeare. Prince Simba from The Lion King has a similar story to Hamlet, zombie R from Warm Bodies is a version of Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, and soccer star Viola Hastings from She’s the Man is a variation of Viola from Twelfth Night.
Witches and wizards
Witches and wizards have been captivating our imaginations for centuries. Some Book Week costume ideas include Harry, Hermione and Ron from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Glinda The Good and The Wicked Witch of The West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Grand High Witch from The Witches by Roald Dahl, Gandalf The Grey from The Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski, or Mildred Hubble, The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy.
Loveable monsters
Some of our kids’ favourite characters are fanged and fearsome! From pirates like Long John Silver, Captain Hook and Molly Rogers Pirate Girl to vampires like Vlad the Rad, Amelia Fang, Edward Cullen and Vampenguin, you can consider a fun, frightening dress-up.
If your child enjoys scary tales, there are also a range of classic and new monsters to be found in R. L. Stine’s extensive Goosebumps series, including ghouls, mummies, spiders, werewolves, pumpkin heads and the spooky ventriloquist dummy, Slappy.
If you’re keen to use existing clothing as a base, Modo Life also has a range of affordable accessories and products, like hats, gloves, wigs and hair sprays. A red ribbon could turn your child into Matilda, while a magnifying glass might be all that’s needed for The Hardy Boys.
Modo Life is also inviting everyone to share their Book Week photos! Tag @modolifestives on Instagram in your Book Week costumes for your chance to win a prize!
Searching for some literary inspiration or a book to match the costume? Visit BOOK FACE at St Ives Shopping Village.
