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Last updated on May 9th, 2026 at 08:39 pm
Halloween is getting closer by the day! Does your school encourage teachers to dress up? Since some families do not celebrate Halloween, many schools opt for a book character dress-up day. I always struggle to come up with a costume because I don’t want to spend much on something I will wear once. I’m sure you can relate. Furthermore, many schools promote grade level teams dressing as a theme. So, I thought I’d share some simple, low-cost book character costumes you can put together.
On Your Own Book Character Costumes
1. Clifford– If you have red clothing, you are set! Wear a red school-appropriate outfit and make a dog ear headband out of red construction paper. You may even have red paper scraps sitting in your classroom now!
2. Piggie from Elephant & Piggie– I did this one year! I put on a pink shirt and added a pink-earred construction paper headband. You could, also, add a pig nose with face point or purchase one. I, also, have the Gerald stuffed animal, so I had him out as well.
3. Fancy Nancy– Put on something fancy and a tiara! You may be able to find something at your local thrift shop to wear. Take a look at some book covers for inspiration on colors and design.
4. The Paper Bag Princess from The Paper Bag Princess– You will need multiple paper bags or a lawn bag from the grocery store for this and yarn. Or use butcher paper, if you have it. Cut out a crown shape from one paper bag and wrap it around your head to get the correct size. Staple or tape the crown. Remember when you made Native American vests in school? I know I am dating myself here, but it is a similar concept to cut out and put this costume together. Use the yarn to tie around your waist when the costume is on. Check out this post from I Speak Canadian for details.
5. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree- Wear khaki pants with a green shirt. Add sticker letters all over your shirt and a few down your pants leg. You could, also, add a paper headband with leaves to top it off!
With Your Team Book Character Costumes
1. Crayons from The Day the Crayons Quit– Each of you choose a color crayone to be. Then, wear clothing of that color and add a headband shaped like the tip of a crayon. That was what my team did lasy year!
2. Rock, Paper, Scissors from The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors– One of our grade level teams a couple years ago did this one! They just cut out and decorated these shapes from cardboard. They were quite large! Then, they added rope to the top to hang the selected item around their neck.
3. Fruit from The Very Hungry Caterpillar– This is another one where you could dress in a color and add some cardboard pieces to complete the fruit. Someone could, also, be the caterpillar or butterfly!
4. The Bad Seed and Friends- Similar to the others, create these characters from cardboard to hang around your neck.
5. The Kids in Pajama Day– Wear pajamas and that is the costume for this book! Spice it up with one person not wearing pajamas like the story.
Conclusion
If you’re not into making your costume and/or shopping for parts, you could always head over to Amazon and shop their Prime Big Deal Days sale that runs Oct. 7-8! Just search book character costumes and a whole selection will pop up.
While the chaos of Halloween is around, check out click here for Halloween brain breaks to share with your students! Please add your best costume ideas below in the comments.