Book Character Costume Ideas

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Book Character Costumes is a great fancy dress theme for adults and children alike.Book Character Fancy Dress ideas

Many schools now have a day,or week, dedicated to encourage children to read books. World Book Day is in early March, and National Book Week is held early October, although many schools will fit their own ‘Book week’ in during a more suitable time for them at some point throughout the year. Children,and teachers, are encouraged to wear book character costumes during the school day, making it really fun for all concerned.

A Book Character Fancy Dress is always popular because many of the costumes are instantly recognisable when being worn.

We have split this huge section into 3 sections (choose from the list on the left):

  • Book Characters
  • Nursery Rhyme Characters
  • Comic Book Characters

 

Roald Dahl Costume Ideas

Evacuee Girl's Costumeview

Evacuee Girl's Costume

£19.80
Face Bob With Monkey Noiseview

Face Bob With Monkey Noise

£7.45
Girls Ladybird Costumeview

Girls Ladybird Costume

£18.00
Victorian Boy Costumeview

Victorian Boy Costume

£14.40

Roald Dahl Day is celebrated annually in many UK schools on September 13th and it is a great opportunity to introduce children to the wonderful world he created in his many children’s books.

If you have a great idea that you’d like to pass on to other people looking for costume inspiration for this dressing up theme, please drop us a line in the comment section below.

Hopefully, we will be able to give you some easy costume ideas to dress up as a Roald Dahl Book character…

The BFG (Big Friendly Giant)
Characters Include:

  • BFG -David Walliams recently played the part of the BFG and he wore a cream polo shirt, tatty brown waistcoat, too big trousers held up by a belt. He also had rather large ears (to hear the dreams), a bald head with grey tufts of hair on either side.
  • Sophie – Wears a pink dress and has long, blonde hair
  • Queen of England – Wear a crown and a cape

The Twits

  • Monkeys – we stock a great monkey face bop mask, just wear brown top and trousers and add one of our brown tails to create the look
  • Mr Twit – Wear a black full beard and put bits of food like cornflakes in it. Wear clothes that are messed up and look dirty
  • Mrs Twit – wears a green dress and is quite plump, so maybe add a santa belly, or a cushion,  underneath for more padding if necessary.She uses a walking cane that is a little short for her so you may need to cut one down a bit.

Matilda

  • Matilda – wears a blue dress and has brown hair with a red headband. Carry a pile of books
  • Mrs Wormwood – blonde hair with dark roots and wears very heavy make-up. She is a very large lady so again, some padding may be required.
  • Miss Trunchbull – school bullying headmistress. Wear a dark suit or dress with a belt. Large lady so padding may be necessary. Hair should be pulled severely off the face in a bun at the back. Carry a cane.
  • Amanda Thripp – wears school uniform and her hair in pigtails

James & The Giant Peach

  • James – Wear a white shirt with a tie and a blazer. Our Evacuee boy costume is ideal
  • The Old Man – a wizard who makes the magic happen. Carry a bag full of magical gems, brightly coloured sweets would look quite good.
  • Insects – These include ladybirds, caterpillars, worms and spiders. Ladybirds are easy as we stock ladybird wings and kids costumes. For spiders, dress all in black and add 2 x pairs of legs to each side. These can be made by stuffing black ladies tights. For caterpillars, dress all in green and fix some shoes all down the sides. Make the shoes from thin cardboard so they are not too heavy.
  • Cloud Men – Dress all in white,including hair and use white facepaint to cover your face.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory – one of the easiest of books to dress up as! Lots of costumes are available on the market to purchase.

  • Charlie Bucket – Charlie comes from a poor family so one of our Victorian boy, or urchin costumes would work quite well, or wear school trousers, or shorts with an old shirt
  • Golden Ticket – why not create the Golden Ticket from thin cardboard. Yes, it will take time, and imagination but will certainly be a bit different!
  • Grandpa Joe – wear a dark suit, grey hair
  • Veruca Salt – Wears frilly, girly clothes with hair in a bow
  • Mike Teavee – Dress in  a cowboy costume and have lots of guns on holsters
  • Violet Beauregarde – pretend to chew chewing gum all the time, although you may get an aching jaw! Our Violet dress is ideal for this character. You can also paint your face purple and get a purple wig to create the final look.
  • Augustus Gloop – wear a red and white striped top and as he is a large boy use padding if necessary.
  • Willy Wonka – We stock a Factory Owner costume that is ideal for this character, alternatively, wear a top hat and brightly coloured clothes with a bow tie
  • Oompa Loompa – We stock a Factory Worker costume that is ideal for this character. Alternatively wear a brown top  with white trousers. Use orange facepaint and a green wig to complete the look.

The Witches

  • Grandmamma – A large 86 year old, Norwegian lady who smokes cigars
  • The Grand High Witch – A nasty witch, wear dark clothes, witch nose with pink nostrils. Wear gloves or make some claws that stick on your fingernails. Wear a wig as witches, as according to Grandmamma are always bald!
  • The Other Witches – just use standard witch costumes for any of these characters.
  • Mice – Bruno Jenkins and the witches are turned into mice. Use our Mouse Face Bop, grey tail and grey clothing for this outfit
  • Nurse & Doctor – take care of Granmamma when she is ill. Look at our Doctors & Nurses accessories to put together your outfits.
  • Cooks – an easy costume to put together,just wear one of our Cook hats

Fantastic Mr Fox

  • Mr Fox – We do stock a kids Fox costume, the mask is not fantastic but does the job. We also stock fox overhead masks which added to a jacket and trousers gives a good look. Add a brown tail for the full effect.
  • Other Animals: Include Badgers, rats, weasels, rabbits (the easiest as we stock rabbit ears etc.), squirrels
  • Famers – wear a cloth cap and tweeds to create a farmer look.

Danny, Champion Of The World

  • Danny – wear our Urchin costume or Victorian boy costume as Danny is poor
  • Doc Spencer – wear a doctor’s costume for this character
  • Dad – wear overalls that he would wear working in the garage.

George’s Marvellous Medicine

  • Grandma – Described as having ‘wicked’ eyes and brown teeth! She enjoys eating insects, so try and find some joke ones to ‘eat’. Wear a grey wig and granny glasses and an old fashioned dress – our girl’s evacuee costume is ideal.
  • Farms Animals. This book has lots of farm animals including hens, pigs, cows, sheep, pony’s and goats. We stock a wide range of animal face bop masks which are great for children to wear as they do not cover the entire face and allow good visibility. We also stock a great range of farm animals masks
  • George – Wear blue trousers and a red top. He has blonde hair. Fill a plastic bottle with coloured water and stick a label on the outside ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’

The Magic Finger

  • Lucy – A little girl who has a ‘magic finger’ – wear your normal clothes and paint your finger a different colour with our body make-up – an easy option! Lucy has blonde hair and is seen wearing either a red or blue top with blue trousers.
  • Mrs Winter – She is turned into a cat, so you could wear a ladies style dress with a cat’s mask
  • Ducks – wear one of our Duck Masks

Charlie, And The Great Glass Elevator – Sequel to Charlie &The Chocolate Factory

  • Charlie, as above
  • Grandpa Joe, as above
  • Willy Wonka, as above
  • Astronauts
  • Knids – brown/green shapeless creatures with eyes (a bit like eggs). Get this effect either with papier mache, or large clothing that is stuffed to get the look.
  • George, Josphine (other grandparents) become babies – so dress up as a baby
  • Grandma Georgina – Pilgrim costume
  • Oompa Loompas, as above

Esio Trot

  • Mr Hoppy – wear shirt, waistcoat and trousers with round glasses
  • Mrs Silver – wear a lilac dress with white pinny, carry a tortoise

The Enormous Crocodille

  • Crocodile
  • Elephant – we stock elephant overhead masks and face bops

The Gremlins

  • RAF pilots
  • Gremlins – You will need to put horns on your head and wear large boots. Paint your face green, orange or yellow.

Boy

  • Wear an urchin or Victorian Schoolboy costume for this book which is acually based on Roald Dahl’s early life.

The Giraffe and The Pelly & Me

  • Billy – Wear an urchin or Victorian Schoolboy costume 
  • Animals characters include a Giraffe, a Pelican and a Monkey – we do stock Monkey masks
  • Burglar – wear a striped black and white top, eyemask and black trousers
  • Policeman – we stock many police accessories that you can wear with a school shirt and trousers

The Vicar of Nibbleswick

  • Reverend Robert Lee – wear one of our Vicar’s kits
Posted in Book Character Costumes, Roald Dahl Costume Ideas | Tagged roald dahl book characters, roald dahl costumes, roald dahl day costume ideas, roald dahl fancy dress, roald dahl fancy dress ideas | Leave a reply

World Book Day Costume Ideas

Factory Workerview

Factory Worker

£24.60
Red Riding Hood Girls Costumeview

Red Riding Hood Girls Costume

£15.96
Victorian Schoolgirl Costumeview

Victorian Schoolgirl Costume

£19.20
Indian - Ladies Costumeview

Indian - Ladies Costume

£14.95
Harry Potter Accessory Kitview

Harry Potter Accessory Kit

£9.85
Lady of The Palace - Girls Tudor Costumeview

Lady of The Palace - Girls Tudor Costume

£22.80

Although this page is based on school book character costumes, most of these costumes suggestions can be used for an adult fancy dress party as well.

World Book Day (early March every year) was first celebrated in 1995 organised by UNESCO and support for it is growing year on year. National Book Week (early October every Year) was first celebrated in 1919. Schools have to be registered and will tend to approach this day (or week) differently. Some schools will have a visiting book seller, others will invite a story teller and a growing number will encourage their pupils to come dressed as their favourite book character. This is where this page will help you. It will give you plenty of children’s book character fancy dress ideas that your child can dress up as and links to some of the most popular World Book Day Costumes. We also appreciate that a lot of you will be working on a tight budget, so we have also included some ideas on how you could put the costume together simply. The World Book Day Costume ideas are based on popular book characters for children in UK and some of these ideas may not work if you are somewhere else in the world.

Now, we all know that it can be difficult to get some kids to dress up at all. If your child is reluctant to dress up, it is no good just buying them any costume with the hope that they will wear it happily on the day. The chances are, in the morning, there will be a large tantrum and your day will get off to a very bad start! So, how can we get reluctant kids to dress up? Well, most schools are just happy that the kids are participating in the event, so it may be easier for your child to just wear a prop like a face bop (we stock a large range of these animal face masks that are very child friendly are are any easy option). A lot of major characters, although famous for being in films, or comics, often did actually start their lives as a character of a book, it may be worth researching your choosen costume to check before you purchase if you are worried. Take a look at our section based on Comic Book character Costume Ideas.

We would also like to point out that the suggestions on this page are designed for UK Primary School age children only up to the approximate age of 11 years.

N.B. Face Bobs are mentioned for some of the following book characters. Face Bobs are child friendly animal masks that give good vision, and some even come with an animal noise when you depress the nose. Check our whole range of animal face bobs as they can be an easy option for lots of book characters. We also stock a large range of animal noses, which are another great way to get numerous animal outfits at a very realistic price.

Cinderella – Wear a bridesmaid’s dress, or any Princess costume. You could also send

your child in a wench costume (poor cinders), or rag up an old party dress to get the look.

Fairy Godmother – Wear a white princess, or fairy dress, and add some wings

Indian In the Cupboard – Indian Costumes. This book also has cowboy characters

The Fox & The Cat
– Two main characters, a fox and a cat. Cat costumes are available but you could easily use a face bob for either of these characters.

Hare & The Tortoise – It will be difficult do make or find a tortoise costume for this Aesop Fable, so most would just use a rabbit costume or rabbit face bob for the ‘Hare’. We have rabbit costumes to hire

Lion & The Mouse -Two main costumes, the lion and the mouse. Again, a face bob can make this an easy costume to make yourself. Take a look at our Cowardly Lion costume – it is ideal for this book character costume.

Goldilocks & The Three Bears -For Goldilocks you could use a party dress with a cape and a small basket. Just add a brown top and trousers to a bear face bob for one of the three bears.

Red Riding Hood – There are many variations of a Girls Red Riding Hood costume on the market to purchase. If you do not want to buy a costume just use a red dress and make a small cape from a piece of red fabric.

Snow White – It is probably easier to buy a Snow White costume unless you are a wiz

with the needle! Other characters include The Wicked Queen (any witch costume will do), woodcutter – wear a peasant costume, Dwarves and Prince Charming.

3 Little Pigs
– Hard to get a costume, so face bobs (MA039) may be the only answer.

Prince Charming -This character is found in many fairytale books and with the popularity of Shrek, it has become a ‘must have’ costume for boys and men.

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe – This story is set in the 1940s so a girls evacuee costume would be great for Lucy or the younger boys. Aslam – Lion costumes . To keep to the story, a Witch costume needs to be white, so maybe adapt an angel costume. The book takes the children on various adventures, so it is also okay to wear a King, Princess or a Queen’s costume.

Alice in Wonderland -This book gives many costume choices. Alice just needs a blue dress with a Victorian style pinafore and an Alice band. The white rabbit can be easily put together using a face bob and white clothes. The Queen of Hearts can wear a dress covered with hearts and a crown. The King of Hearts could be dressed like the Prince Charming but covered in hearts and wearing a crown. Take a look a tour Alice in Wonderland costumes

Harry Potter – A very popular choice with children at the moment. Harry Potter kits and costumes are available to purchase but you can purchase a cheap Halloween cape and some glasses to get the effect. The Gryffindor robe is unisex, so is ideal for Ron or Hermoine as well as Harry.

The Worst Witch – Any witch costume will suffice for this character.

Watership Down – A rabbit costume or face bob (MA039). Rabbit costumes are available to hire

The Lord of The Rings – This may be a little old for Primary School children but Frodo Costume kits are available to purchase for Frodo. We stock various adult Lord Of The Rings hire costumes including: Arwen & Gandalf

Dracula -Quite popular with boys, who do not want to look silly at school. Dracula is quite a cool book character but a costume that can easily be put together with a few fancy dress accessories.. Costumes are available to purchase but can be put together quite easily using black trousers, white shirt, bow tie, vampire teeth and some make up. A cape can either be made from some black material or a cheap one can be purchased. We stock Dracula costumes to purchase as well as all the accessories you could want to put your costume together at home.

Meg & Mog -Two main characters are a witch and a cat – see suggestions as before

Peter Pan – Peter Pan gives lots of character options. Peter Pan himself is normally depicted wearing green top and trousers but there are some good costumes available to buy. Captain Hook, the villain of the story is very popular with boys. Many costume variations are available. A standard pirate can also be worn by girls and boys as Smee and the other pirates on Captain Hook’s ship. Tinker Bell is the girls favourite. A green fairy costume or a green dress with wings will suffice. Other characters include: Wendy, mermaids and Indians

Pinocchio – A story of a puppet that comes to life. A Pinocchio costume (is available to buy (kids only, adults hire only) and is probably easier than trying to put this costume together. We also stock long noses

Gone With The Wind Okay, we know that this book is not a kids book at all but from our experience the young girls like dressing up as Scarlet O’Hara. We sell a great value, red girls Victorian costume that is ideal for this character. The good news is that it can also be worn on the next Victorian day at school.

Oliver Twist – a great book choice for both girls and boys. The boys can go as Oliver himself. Victorian costumes are available, or you could put your own costume together with some shorts, white tatty shirt and a cap. The girls would go as Nancy and wear the same dress that we described in Gone With The Wind (above). Again, both costumes could be used for the next Victorian dress up day.

Zorro – Created by Johnston McCulley in 1919. A Zorro costume includes: Black trousers and a long sleeved top. Add a cape and a mask. A rapier sword will complete the look but make sure that your school is okay with it.

Star Wars – Although this started out as a film, various books have spawned from it. Choose from Princess Leia, Queen Amidala, Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Yoda, Chewbacca and many more iconic characters. We do stock a range of Star Wars costumes and also have a selection for hire

Robin Hood – A Robin Hood costume can be made up with some old brown trousers and long sleeved tunic. A belt can be looped over the shoulder. Bow and arrows are very cheap to purchase – please check with the school that this item can be taken in. Other characters include: Maid Marion, Friar Tuck, Merry Men

Jack & the Beanstalk - Various characters to choose from including Jack – wear a poor

Tudor Boy costume (men could wear this Robin Hood costume – it is ideal for many fairytale characters) or rag some old trousers and shirt. Wear an old waistcoat and you have the idea. Girls could go as Jack’s mother in a wench style costume, or girls and boys could go as the cow!

Pied Piper of Hamelin - Pied means colourful, so the costume should be brightly coloured. Will need a pipe (or recorder!)

Winnie The Pooh – Go as a yellow bear, tiger, donkey, piglet or kangaroo – easiest way would be to wear a face bob or one of our animal masks

Princess & the Pea – Wear a Princess costume or a bridesmaid or party dress.

Prince Caspian – Linked to The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.

The Frog Prince – Wear a King or Prince style costume with our fantastic frog mask

The Jungle Book Published in 1894, although characters first appeared in193/4 in magazines. Characters include: Baghera the black panther, wolves, tiger (Shere Khan), Baloo The Bear, Kaa the python, Hathi the elephant and wolves. Take a look at our animal masks

Gulliver’s Travels -Based in the late 17th century – mid 18th century. Any Georgian costume will suit (you could use any Pirate Captain costume as it does give the required look). We also have a nice selection of Georgian style costumes to hire

The Wind In the Willows – Main characters include:

  • Mole
  • Ratty
  • Mr. Toad – Frog mask available
  • Mr. Badger – Badger mask available
  • Otter & Portly
  • Gaolers Daughter – only human character
  • Chief Weasel
  • Rabbits & Squirrels – Rabbit face bobs available (MA039)

Jemima Puddleduck – Wear a duck mask and use some white feather wings to create your outfit

Heidi – In the 1st book, Heidi is described as having short, dark, curly hair. In later books she has long straight, blonde hair – the choice is yours! Most people would wear a German style of costume. Costumes are available to hire only

Winnie The Witch – any witch costume should be okay

Wizard Of Oz - This originated as a childrens book (1900) with the same name. Props & Frocks stock The Wizard Of Oz Costumes to buy, or hire. Main characters include:

  • Dorothy – Blue gingham dress. Brown plaited hair available to hire or buy.
  • Scarecrow – Rip old clothing, use string for a belt. If you can get hold of hay, or straw, stuff it in pockets. Carrot nose available to purchase.
  • Lion – face masks and face bobs available. Wear a mustard coloured top and trousers. Costume available to purchase
  • Tin Man – silver metallic face paint available. Difficult to get the right effect for the costume. Packaged costume available to purchase.
  • Wicked Witch of The West. Standard black witch costume. Green face. Have a look at the small central rail that has a selection of witch costumes on it
  • Glinda (good witch). Pink fairy costume.

James & the Giant Peach – Bug costumes. We stock ladybird, dragonfly, bumble and

butterfly wings. We also stock bee and ladybird head boppers and costumes. Wizard (the Old Man) – appears just once in the book, but is behind all the magic that happens.

Costumes that we stock to purchase that are suitable for this book character are: Bumble Bees, Ladybird, Wizard. We do stock some bug costumes to hire. Wear an evacuee boy (2496), for James

The Railway Children – 1st published in 1905, although strictly the Edwardian era, most people would use a Victorian costume. The good thing about purchasing a kids Victorian costume is hopefully you will also be able to use it during a Victorian day at school.

The Famous Five – Enid Blyton actually wrote 21 books in The Famous Five Series. 2 girls and 2 boys, with their dog, Timmy, made up the 5 characters. Set in the 1940’s standard children 40’s costumes are suitable. Our Evacuee costumes are ideal for some of these book characters.

Goldilocks – our Goldilocks Girl’s costume is available in 4 sizes up to an extra large size.

Aladdin – A great favourite with children, it was a film first although the story has been re-told in children books. We stock some great Chinese accessories that will help you to complete this type of costume. Main characters:

  • Aladdin – coolie hat, waistcoat and baggy trousers / pantaloons. We also stock coolie hats.
  • Jasmine – wear a belly dancer style costume
  • Genie – Waistcoat and baggy trousers / pantaloons and turban.
  • Jafar – the baddie

The Witches – standard girls witch costumes – all you need is a black dress and then look at some of our witch accessories to help you complete this outfit.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory – Charlie could wear a standard schoolboy costume (ideal if your son does not want to dress up – a Victorian costume or evacuee costume would be ideal). Take a look at our range of boys Evacuee & Victorian costumes Just give him a golden ticket. Willy Wonka could wear a Victorian style costume, although we also stock a costume to purchase that is suitable for this character. Oompa Loompa costumes are available to purchase. Wear a cowboy costume for Mike TV. A costume is also available for Violet.

Horrid Henry – A licensed costume is now available, although it does not come up that large and is probably only suitable for up to 7-8. We also stock a jumper only that is more generous.

Doctor Dolittle – A standard Victorian costume. Animals featured include:

  • Parrot – animal masks for most of these birds and animals
  • Monkey
  • Owl
  • Mouse – this character is white, we only stock grey mouse face bobs.
  • Pig
  • Dog
  • Duck

Just William - Schoolboy Outfit – our evacuee boy (2496) costume would be ideal for this character. We also stock a selection of schoolboy accessories including caps, ties and catapults.

Lizzie Dripping – Witch Costume

Bible – Use one of our nativity costumes that include costumes suitable for Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, angels and Kings as well as our range of animal face bobs

The Snowman
– Childs Snowman costume

A Christmas Carol – Again you can use children Victorian costumes for this book and also a ghost costume.

HamletWitch costumes and a King costumewould be suitable for this book

Julius Caesar Roman costumes for this Shakespearian book

A Midsummer’s Night Dream – Witch & Fairy Costumes

King Lear
King (KO018) & Medieval Costumes

Jungle Book – Assorted animal costumes, including a tiger.

Frankenstein – Green face paint, bolts (available to purchase) and a black wig will give the idea of this monster. Wear an oversized jacket and pad out the shoulders to complete the look.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Tiger costume. We stock tiger face masks and tiger face bobs (MA039) to create the idea of this book character

The Night Pirates – Pirate Costumes. An easy costume to put together if you do not want to purchase a complete outfit. We stock a huge range of pirate accessories so you can put your own costume together at home.

The Fantastic Mr Fox – Fox Costume – a fox mask is available to purchase and wear normal jacket. We also stock a brown tail, ideal to use as a fox tail

Where’s Wally Loved by kids for many years. Where’s Wally Licensed costume is available for children & adults. Red and white striped top, blue trousers, matching hat.

Where’s Wenda Character from The Where’s Wally books. Licensed costume available for children and adults

Gangsta Granny Written by /David Walliams. Granny wears a floral dress (our Evacuee girls costume would be ideal)

The Cat In The Hat – Scarves and hats are available to purchase, as are a huge range of cat accessories to create the look. Just wear black long sleeved tee shirt and black leggings or trousers.

Bobby The Bee Little BeeMaya The Bee Ruby Lee the Bumble Bee Wear a bee costume for all of these 4 kids books

The Orchard Book Of Greek Myths
Atticus The Storyteller
Wear Roman Outfits

Old Mother Hubbard Wear an old bridesmaid dress, or one of our Tudor peasant costumes

Little Match Girl – wear a poor Victorian costume

Romeo & Juliet – wear Medieval costumes

Jack & Jill (Pinocchio costume will be suitable for Jack)

Little Miss Muffet -wear a Victorian costume or old Bridesmaid dress. We also stock a lovely girl’s Miss Muffet Costume which is available in 4 sizes.

Mary, Mary… wear a girls Victorian costume for these Nursery rhymes often found

in books. We also stock costumes that are suitable for these characters in our hire range.

Rapunzel Wear a Princess costume with a blonde wig. Other characters include: Dame Gothel, a nasty enchantress ( a witch costume would be okay) and a Prince, who rescues Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty Characters include: Sleeping Beauty, Prince, King Queen & Bad Fairy/Witch. We stock the licensed Disney Sleeping Beauty Costume.

Tom Tom The Pipers Son wear a Tudor Boy , or Victorian Boy for this Nursery rhyme Character. We also have hire costumes for this character

Knights Of the Round Table- This book is full of Knight characters and a King. Take a look at our Knight costume

Mary Poppins Book originally published in 1934. Full of characters including a chimney sweep (Bert), the children Jane & Michael, Mary Poppins.
Wear Victorian / Edwardian style costumes. A new adult costume that is ideal for this character will be available very soon – watch this space!

The Gruffalo Magical kids storybook with some animal characters. Most would need to be made up with a face bop (MA039) and the right coloured clothing. Characters include: Mouse, Lion & Owl.

The Owl & The Pussycat. We do stock cat costumes and a great range of cat accessories to help you to make up this character. We also stock owl face bops and overhead masks.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame This story (published in 1831) features a gypsy girl (Esmerelda), so why not have a look at the gypsy costumes we stock. Quasimodo is the Hunchback of Notre Dame and his costume could be made using the brown deluxe Robin Hood , some padding and a cape

Dick Whittington Characters include a cat (Puss in Boots) and Dick Whittington. The Robin Hood Brown deluxe costume is ideal for Dick and his cat is famous for wearing boots, so why not just add a pair of over boots to our cat costume (KO015)?

Hansel & Gretel - Use German style costumes for these fairytale characters

Mickey &
Minnie Mouse we have hire costumes suitable for these characters that feature in many children books.

Dumbo although strictly a film, it features in many kids books. We stock elephant face bops. We also stock clowns that feature in the film.

Sword In The Stone- This book is full of Knight characters, wizards, Medieval ladies and

a King.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Script written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on the book by Ian Flemming. Set in Edwardian times, the nearest we have for costumes would be Victorian. Main characters include: Inventor (Caractacus Potts), his two children (Jeremy and Jemima), Truly Scrumptious, an upper class lady and The Child Catcher.

The Little Mermaid Although strictly a Disney Film The Little Mermaid is in many books. We stock an Ariel Costume (883674) We also do a Mermaid Costume (KO020) and The Sharpay Dress (882951) minus the brooch makes a lovely mermaid.

Hire Options

Other hire costumes that we stock are below (the book characters that they are suitable for will be listed alongside)

  • Medieval Girl Costumes Maid Marion, Princess Fiona, Repunzel, Sleeping Beauty
  • Indians Indian in the Cupboard, Peter Pan
  • Knights The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Knights Of The Round table, Sword In The Stone
  • Medieval Boy Pied Piper, add a cape for a Prince Charming or King
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Red Riding Hood
  • Dorothy
  • Cinderella
  • Tinker Bell
  • Victorian Boy Willy Wonka, Fantastic Mr Fox (add Fox Mask and tail), White Rabbit (add rabbit mask and large clock), Gulliver from Gullivers Travels
Posted in Book Character Costumes, World Book Day Costumes | Tagged book character costumes, book week fancy dress, costumes ideas book week, kids book week costumes, school book costume ideas, world book day costumes | 1 Reply

Nursery Rhymes Costume Ideas

Girls Ladybird Costumeview

Girls Ladybird Costume

£18.00
Cat Child Costumeview

Cat Child Costume

£14.40

Nursery Rhymes Fancy Dress Ideas

When it comes to party themes, our customers often like to re-visit their childhood for ideas. At Props & Frocks storybook and fictional characters are usually popular requests throughout the year, but some people choose to make it a slightly more narrow (and thus sometimes more difficult) theme, by focusing on one aspect, such as Nursery Rhymes.

When you start to look at this theme in more detail, there are loads of different characters and costumes to choose from, although some crop up in a number of rhymes.

For example, cats turn up in several rhymes. So, a furry bodysuit, catsuit or just cat accessories, can give you a number of potential characters. Armed with a map of London(or a facsimile of a Buckingham Palace guide book) you can be the Cat who went to London to look at the Queen (natural pairing with a Queen) or, with a violin case you can be the Cat with a fiddle, from Hey Diddle Diddle. If going as a group there is the potential to go as the Three Little Kittens who lost their Mittens.

If being a cat is not your thing, there are many other costumes available here at Props & Frocks. Some of these may be animal related, but not all necessarily rely on hot fur bodysuits to create an impression. For example, we have animal half face masks for pigs (This little Piggy went to market); mice Three Blind Mice (accessorise with dark glasses and walking sticks/canes); sheep Mary had a little Lamb or Little Bo Peep (black sheep are more difficult to find and although Shaun the sheep may be black faced, he does not really work for Baa Baa Black Sheep). Then of course we come back full circle to the cat, which matched with the owl gives you the Owl and the Pussycat. We also stock instant costume kits, such as the ladybird Ladybird, Ladybird fly away home or spider Incy, Wincy, Spider. There are also wigs available for some animals, such as ladybirds and cats, though not every animal may be featured in a rhyme.

Naturally you do not have to go as an animal, to enter into the spirit of a Nursery Rhymes theme. If you are aiming to go to the event as a couple, this theme lends itself to natural pairings. There are a number of rhymes that leave it up to your imagination to decide upon a suitable costume. Jack and Jill, with a bucket (or two) (depending upon your interpretation) with Jack in a ‘bandage’ of brown paper, can offer a host of opportunities, particularly for those who are perhaps not so keen to dress up. Although as mentioned there are instant spider kits available for Miss Muffet and a Spider, two females may choose to dress in the more short and sexy style costumes available. Old Mother Hubbard (usually features one of our pantomime dame costumes) and we have a few Dog costumes if wanting to pair up. Other partners include the Queen and Knave of Hearts (or the Queen and Cat, as mentioned above); Bo Peep and Sheep or Mary and her Lamb and, if going as a group you could be really enterprising and not only go as the Cat and a fidldle (as mentioned above) but also the Cow and Moon (using one of our moon shaped masks) and Dish with a Spoon. If working with odd numbers you can even feature the little dog.

Wear a Chef’s hat for the Baker in ‘Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker’
Wear a Tudor Peasant for ‘Tom’ as in ‘Tom, Tom, The Piper’s son’

For those wanting a slightly different spin on the traditional Nursery Rhymes, there are

alternative style costumes that could work. For example, why not use one of our Austin Powers suits for Little Boy Blue, rather than the recognised style as portrayed in the Gainsborough painting. There are also several variations on the Queen of Hearts costume, or why not look at a nightgown and striped nightcap for Wee Willie Winkie? When donning a fancy dress outfit, males in particular can often find it a bit intimidating, particularly if this is the first time they have ever had to dress up in costume. Going back to their childhood might not their idea of fun, but a uniform to depict the Grand Old Duke of York, or regal outfit for Old King Cole can often add a touch of class to the nursery nature of the theme. Alternatively, a doctors outfit for Dr Foster can also be a bit different, and a good excuse for carrying a can of Fosters!

Of course, it is not only adult fancy dress parties that have a Nursery Rhymes theme. Quite often we are asked by playgroups and nursery schools to provide costumes and/or accessories for children. Some of those items mentioned above may only be available for adults, whilst others can only be used by those children three years and over (for safety reasons). If you are uncertain whether we provide a particular item for you or your child(ren), please ask. We look forward to helping you out with your Nursery Rhymes theme.

Most common Nursery Rhymes:

  • Horsey Horsey – wear a horse costume / mask
  • Ol’ Mother Hubbard
  • Baa Baa Black Sheep
  • Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
  • Little Boy Blue
  • Doctor Foster
  • Grand Ol’ Duke Of York
  • Humptey Dumptey
  • Hey Diddle Diddle
  • Hickory Dickory Dock
  • Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Jack & Jill
  • Jack Spratt
  • Ladybird, Ladybird – we stock ladybird costumes & wings
  • Little Bo Peep
  • Little Miss Muffet
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • One, Two, Three, Four, Five – carry a fishing line with a fake fish
  • Oranges & Lemons – just carry both of these fruits
  • Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake
  • Polly, Put The Kettle On – wear a Victorian costume – hold a fake kettle
  • Pussycat, Pussycat – another chance to wear a cat costume
  • Rain, Rain Go Away – wear a raincoat and carry an umbrella
  • Sticks & Stones
  • Three Blind Mice – wear a mouse mask with a blindfold – make sure there are eye holes for safety reasons!
  • The Owl & the Pussycat – we stock a lovely owl mask
  • The Queen of Hearts
  • This Little Piggy – wear a pig mask
  • Wee Willie Winkie