With World Book Day just around the corner, I wanted to come up with some super simple costume ideas for anyone who needs a bit of last-minute inspiration.
While we all know we can pop to the shops and grab a costume, there are a few reasons I’m personally not overly keen on doing this.
The first is cost. Shop-bought costumes can be expensive. They’re also often poor quality and, if your child isn’t particularly into dressing up, they might only be worn once.
That leads into my second point, which is the environmental impact of so many costumes being produced and then discarded. This also circles back to the issue of poor quality.
I’m very aware that not every parent has the time or the inclination to make something from scratch. I’m hoping the ideas on this list are a mix of using items you might already have at home or repurposing other things, such as Halloween costumes.
You might also notice that there are a few things missing from this list. I haven’t included the really obvious choices such as Harry Potter, princesses or superheroes.
With that in mind, it’s worth remembering that comics absolutely count as books, and almost all Disney princesses were based on actual stories or legends.
I’ve also tried to stick with well-known books/authors and avoid anything too obscure – I’m aiming for books you or someone within your friends and family will likely have on their bookshelf.
Before buying or making any costume, it’s worth considering how comfortable and practical the outfit is.
Will your child be able to take it off easily to go to the toilet?
Will they be warm enough? Can they wear a coat? It’s March, and the weather can still be pretty chilly.
1. Charlie – Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book By Julia Donaldson
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book is one of my favourite Julia Donaldson books, and I’m patiently waiting for it to be turned into a Magic Light short film. The best bit is where they rhyme Greedier with Encyclopedia – it always makes me smile.
Charlie Cook is nice, simple costume, although the only small caveat is that he might be confused with Wally from Where’s Wally.
Charlie Cook Costume – You Will Need
- Red and white striped t-shirt
- Blue trousers or jeans
- White trainers (although some pictures online show the shoes to be red)
- Optional red socks
Optional Acessories
- Stack of books
- Toy Parrot
- Magazine
- Toy Aligator
2. Princess Pearl – Zog/Zog and the Flying Doctors By Julia Donaldson
I love this Princess Pearl costume idea, I’m probably a little bit biased as my daughter went as this for her World Book Day in 2023 when she was in reception class.
I was lucky she already owned a pink polka-dot dress and a pretend first aid kit. I just oreded a second-hand white doctor’s coat from Vinted and we were sorted.
Princess Pearl Costume – Your Will Need
- Pink dress
- Crown/Tiara or Green Hair Band
- White doctors Coat
Optional Acessories
- Toy first aid kit
- Toy Dragon
3. Matilda – Matilda by Roald Dahl
The classic image of Matilda that I think a lot of us think of have comes from the classic 90s film adaptation starring Mara Wilson and Danny Devito, which is why I’ve not included a book image of Matilda above.
This is a lovely, easy, and popular costume to do – many girls already own a blue dress, and red ribbon is also easy to get hold of.
Matilda Costume – You Will Need:
- Blue Dress
- Red Ribbon
- White Socks
Optional Accessories
- Doll (Lissy Doll)
- Chocolate Box
- Stack of Books (Bonus for including Moby Dick or Charles Dickens)
- White Cardigan
4. Miss Trunchball – Matilda Roald Dahl
This is probably the most difficult costume on this list, but I wanted to include it as I think it could easily be styled from what some children already have, along with borrowing one or two things from Mum and Dad.
Again, this styling comes from the 1996 film adaptation.
Miss Trunchball Costume – You Will Need:
- Oversized Grey Sweater
- Dark green Leggings or Joggers
- Brown Belt
- Hair scraped back into a tight bun
Optional Accesories
- Leather-look gym bag
- DIY Hammer (for Hammerthrowing)
5. Wally – Where’s Wally? By Martin Handford
Wally feels like a classic World Book Day costume and there’s something super fun about trying to find a kid dressed as Wally in a crowd.
Wally Costume – You Will Need:
- Red and White Striped T-shirt
- Blue Jeans or trousers
- Round Black Glasses
- Red and White Hat (could repurpose a Santa hat)
- Walking Stick
6. Pirate – 10 Little Pirates By Mike Brownlow
The great thing about choosing 10 Little Pirates is that there are ten different pirates to choose from. This makes using items you already have much easier, and you can just mix and match to suit the little pirates that best fit what your have.
And if Pirates aren’t your things there are several ’10 Little’ books, including 10 Little Princesses, 10 Little Robots, 10 Little Unicorns and 10 Little Indians.
If you have a pirate costume left over from Halloween, for example, you could just use that (I’ll be honest, that’s what I’m doing for my two-year-old, who isn’t at nursery but will still want to dress up like his sister!)
Pirate Costume – You Will Need:
- Tshirt – Striped or featuring a skull
- Pirate Hat or Bandana – Any Style
- Trousers (whatever’s comfy!)
Optional Acessories:
- Parrot
- Eye Patch
- Earring
7. Flower Fairy – Rainbow Magic Series by Daisy Meadows
If, like me, you have a seven-year-old who loves to read, you’re probably familiar with the Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows. My daughter absolutely loves these books, and they’re so easy to pick up cheaply in charity shops that we’ve ended up with quite the collection.
The great thing about the series is that there are over 200 books to choose from, so there’s bound to be a fairy that matches something you already have at home.
Even better, most of the fairies wear fairly simple, plain-coloured dresses, which makes it easy to find a close match.
You might just need to add a few accessories.
My daughter is going as Hannah the Happily Ever After Fairy this year. We bought a simple blue dress for £1 from Vinted and stuck on some craft daisies from The Range.
We added a pair of fairy wings from Vinted, although Amazon would work if you need faster delivery, plus a wand we already owned, and that was that.
Flower Fairy Costume – You Will Need:
- Coloured Dress
- Fairy Wings
- Fairy Wand
Optional Acessories
- Necklace – lots of the fairies wear these
- Stuffed Animal – some of the fairies are animal fairies
- Anything that relates to your fairy.
8. The Book With No Pictures By B.J Novak
I’ll be honest and say this is probably the most out-there option on the list, and it doesn’t really involve dressing up as such.
But if you have a child who would much rather wear a plain T-shirt and joggers for the day, this might be exactly what you’re looking for.
The Book With No Pictures is a brilliant children’s book with, as you’ve probably guessed, no pictures and no real characters other than the person reading it. Despite that, it’s still a lot of fun.
Going as a book rather than a character could be a “novel” idea, and I really hope someone out there gives it a go. Simply write some of the funny phrases from the book onto a plain white T-shirt and that’s it. You’re done.
Personally, I’d try to match the phrases to the colours they’re printed in inside the book.
The Book With No Pictures Costume – You Will Need:
- Plain White T-shirt
- Marker Pens
9. Skeleton – Funnybones Allan Ahlberg
The Funny Bones books present a great opportunity to repurpose an old Halloween Costume or find one very cheaply, as we’re miles away from spooky season.
Simple but effective.
Funny Bones Costume – You Will Need:
- Skeleton Costume
10. Witch – The Witches, Room On The Broom, Meg & Mog
Another easy option is repurposing Halloween outfits. There are lots of book characters you can create from a simple witch costume.
The classic look is a black dress and a pointy hat, so once you’ve got that base sorted, it’s just a case of adding a few small details to make it specific. Here are a few ideas you could try:
The Grand High Witch – The Witches – Add long gloves.
Luna Lovegood – Harry Potter – Add quirky glasses and a copy of The Quibbler.
The Witch – Room on the Broom – Hair in a plait with a bow, and a dog, cat and bird attached to a small broomstick.
Mildred Hubble – The Worst Witch – Add a black and grey striped tie and a ribbon around the hat.
Professor Sprout – Harry Potter – Add some foliage around the hat.
Finally, if your child already owns a onesie of any sort, these are incredibly easy to wear and repurpose for different book characters. You could also consider buying a onesie instead of a specific costume, as it’s much more likely to be worn again after World Book Day.
Dinosaur onesie – 10 Little Dinosaurs, The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet, Tyrannosaurus Drip, Dinosaurs Love Underpants.
Tiger onesie – The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Never Tickle a Tiger, The Tiger in the Garden.
Unicorn onesie – The Unicorn That Came to School, 10 Little Unicorns, Grumpycorn.
I really hope this post has given you some simple World Book Day Costume ideas without having to spend a fortune or panic too much at the last minute.
If you did try one of these, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!