Photo credit to Megan Nicolay/Generation T
Here it is a couple days before Halloween and your children still haven’t figured out how they want to dress up. They’ve gone through the usual characters but nothing is “cool” enough, or their friend is already dressing up as that character and – Gasp! – It is a total fashion no-no to dress as the same thing “Duh, Mom!”
By now, you may be feeling like the only solution is to pull something that smells like moth balls out of the back of a closet or an old trunk that lives in the basement and call it a day. Or, say it ain’t so, have to jump in the car and drive to the nearest Walmart or Party City and traipse up and down aisles of overpriced costume sets surrounded by a swarm of other last minute Halloween costume-less hopefuls.
But have no fear (besides the traditional Halloween spooks!), because we’re here to offer some advice about how to tap into Halloween costume inspiration. If your children are still hemming and hawing about who they want to be ask them one simple question:
“Who is your favorite literary character?”
Who is it that when they read a book, or you read it together, do they really admire? Which character transports them to a world found only on the pages of well-crafted paperback? Who is it that intrigues them so much they wish they could meet them, even just one time?
Books can evoke vibrant imagery and what better way to release creativity than through dressing up like a book character on Halloween? So this Halloween, encourage your children to look to their favorite books for inspiration and come up with a costume that will impress at every house!
Below, we’ve listed a few of our favorite literary characters to get you and your children started as they explore their love of literature and bring books to life on your friendly neighborhood streets this Halloween:
- Classics
Paddington Bear from A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
The Fish from Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Man in the Yellow Hat or Curious George from the Curious George books by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey
Emily Elizabeth or Clifford from Clifford the Big Red Dog books by Norman Bridwell
Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus books by Jackie Posner, Robbin Cuddy, Lenore Notkin, Nancy E. Krulik,and Joanna Cole
Mary Poppins, Jane Banks, or Michael Banks from the Mary Poppins Series by P. L. Travers
Madeline from the Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans
Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Wicked Witch of the West, or the Good Witch of the North from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Children’s Books
Max from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Eloise from the Eloise books by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
Ladybug Girl from Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis and David Soman
Fancy Nancy from the Fancy Nancy books by Jane O’Connor
Paperbag Princess from The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
Rosie Revere from Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Olivia the Pig from the Olivia books by Ian Falconer
Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
- Young Adult Books
Effie Trinket, Peeta Mellark, or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, or Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson & the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan
Frodo Baggins, Legolas, or Gandolf from The Lord of the Rings Series by J. R. R. Tolkien
Edward Cullen or Bella Swan from the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
Daisy Buchanan or Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Alice, the Mad Hatter, or the Queen of Hearts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
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