Children's

9 Bookish Kids’ Costumes for Halloween (or Character Day)

For all my fellow parents who also forgot about Character Day or Halloween: some of the best bookish kids' costumes for the smallest lit lovers.

A.J. O'Connell Oct 27, 2017

A.J. O'Connell

Staff Writer

A.J. O’Connell is the author of two published novellas: Beware the Hawk and The Eagle & The Arrow. All she’s ever wanted to do in life is read and write books, and so, is constantly writing at least one novel. She holds an MFA in creative fiction, but despite the best efforts of her teachers at Fairfield University's low-residency program, remains a huge dork for sci-fi, fantasy and comic books. She is a journalist and has taught journalism to college students. She blogs about feminism, the writing life, and whatever else comes into her head at www.ajoconnell.com. Blog: A.J. O'Connell Twitter: @ann_oconnell

View All posts by A.J. O'Connell

So I just finished making my preschooler’s Halloween costume when I got an email from the school—next week, the kids will be doing something called Character Day. The kids will be going to school dressed up as their favorite book characters on Oct. 31.

I’m not going to lie—I did a little panicking when I opened that email, because my toddler’s grey bunny costume isn’t a book character and oh no—I have to put together a second costume. And that sent me running to Etsy for inspiration, where I saw some of the most adorable bookish kids’ costumes ever (and calmed down considerably).

I’ve since discovered that my son’s costume can easily be turned into a bookish kids’ costume. I mean, there are a ton of bunnies in children’s fiction. But I couldn’t keep these adorable costumes to myself, because oh my god, guys look:

I mean, just look at this Madeline costume (which you should know is just the hat and collar):

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and OMG, this Gruffalo:

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and this, the Fanciest of Nancies:

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this Mad Hatter:

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this Little Red Riding Hood:

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this Corduroy Bear:

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If you have a yellow shirt with four groovy buttons or some sweet Converses, this Pete the Cat hat might come in handy:

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I feel like your kid’s teacher might not thank you for this costume, but it’s a pretty sweet dragon tail that you can use for a lot of bookish kids’ costumes (Dragons Love Tacos, for example):

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and of course, if all else fails…

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Find even more bookish kids’ costumes, costumes for you, and even pet costumes.

A.J. O'Connell

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