While we talked about several great options for costumes inspired by books in our latest podcast episode, we are full of all sorts of ideas that are just dying to be shared! We also wanted to make sure and throw in some books that might pique the interest of your tweens or teens, so dive on in!
Picture books:
Triangle, Square and Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. My kids and I were lucky enough to get to hear Mac Barnett chat about several of his books at this summer’s National Book Festival and my then-three-year-old was enthralled by his reading of the book Circle. She has been drawing the three friends, Triangle, Square and Circle, ever since and if we didn’t already have our costumes locked down I would be sorely tempted to dress my three kids up as Barnett and Klassen’s surprisingly emotive shapes!
Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos. Lots of kids will be dinosaurs for Halloween, but how many of them will be dinosaurs wearing a bow tie?!
Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton. There are so many clothing combinations to choose from when dressing up as a character from this book that makes me laugh every time I read it. Bonus points if you dress up as the turkey!
Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss. If you have a bug-obsessed kid on your hands I hope you have already discovered these delightful books, but have you ever thought of then as costume inspiration? Worm with his ball cap, Fly with her bow? Adorable!
Early Chapter books:
Hi, Jack and Jack Blasts Off by Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli. These are fairly new books, but they are perfect for my starting-to-read six year old! It helps that he relates to the mischievous Jack and I bet he would love to don a yellow shirt and J-emblazoned hat to be Jack for a book character day!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. Do you happen to have twelve kids that need or want book character costumes? You are in luck, because Mr. Popper just happened to have twelve penguins!
Princess in Black by Shannon Hale. A princess and a superhero?! Done and done! As you read more of these books, you will find all different characters to inspire your costumes: the Goat Avenger! The Princess in Blankets! The only bunnies you will ever be scared of!
Chapter Books:
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. One of my favorite Halloween costumes growing up was a pirate when I was 11 or 12 years old, which is why I think this book is perfect inspiration for the tweens and teens in your life.
Cinder series by Marissa Mayer. This series takes several beloved fairy tales and puts a great spin on them, giving kids a chance to dress up like their favorite fairytale character in a totally new and unique way (two words: cyborg Cinderella)!