This list is from me scanning the shelves and trying to think of easy things people could do...
a skeleton -- Funnybones by Allan Ahlberg
Ahlberg's Happy Families (take your choice)
Burglar Bill -- by Ahlberg
Jolly Pocket Postman (postman carrying a mailbag)
It's the Bear -- by Jez Alborough (Eddie and his teddy)
Miss Nelson -- by Harry Allard
The Stupids -- by Harry Allard (the possibilities of how to dress stupidly abound)
The Emperor's New Clothes (come in your underwear?)
The Fat Controller -- a la Thomas the Tank Engine
Little Babaji (alias Little Black Sambo) (carry an umbrella, wear flashy shoes, a jacket, etc. and carry a brass pot - theoretically full of ghee)
Madeline
a clown - as in Quentin Blake's wordless Clown book
Strega Nona
Leaf Man - Lois Ehrlich (paper leaves all over your outfit?)
the Mr. Men books offer lots of possibilities
James and the Giant Peach (big insects?)
Paddington Bear (wellies, duffle coat, hat, big label)
Skulduggery Pleasant (wear a hat and a scarf)
witches, e.g., Winnie the Witch, Meg and Mog, Piggie Pie (Gritch the Witch)
Chrysanthemum (wear a big name tag)
Lily's Purple Plastic Purse (if you happen to have a purple plastic purse)
Little Mole (wear dog poo on your head)
The Blue Balloon (carry a blue balloon around)
The Man Who Loved Boxes (boxes...)
Baghead (wear a paper bag on your head)
Dr. Seuss -- Green Eggs and Ham
The Wartville Wizard (a book about a wizard who can make the trash people unthinkingly litter about come back and be stuck to them -- so stick some trash on yourself)
The Lion in the Meadow (a matchbox)
The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate (female pirate)
ABC Heroes (make up your own alliterative superhero)
On the Way Home -- Jill Murphy (wear a supersize bandaid/plaster on your knee)
Fancy Nancy
Peter and the Wolf (a Russian hat plus some rope slung over your shoulder)
Officer Buckle (police uniform with lots of safety tips on scraps of paper)
The Dot (carry a framed painting of a dot)
Little Rabbit Foo Foo (carry a big red hammer)
Alice in Wonderland....
The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins (if you have several hats that are the same and could be nested inside each other)
Caps for Sale (if you have a stack of hats)
Horton Hears a Who (carry a big piece of clover around)
My Mum and Dad Make me Laugh (wear spots or stripes or all grey)
Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus
I'm a Dog (wear dog ears and a collar/leash?)
The Amazing Bone (carry a large bone around and pretend it talks to you)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (if you happen to have a nice red pebble)
Max and the Dragon Shirt (if you happen to have a dragon shirt)
Pandora (carry a box)
Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs (blue plastic bucket full of plastic dinosaurs)
Heckedy Peg (the mother with her basket of 7 things for her children)
Emily Eyefinger (have an eye on the end of your finger)
The Wizard of Oz -- Dorothy, the Scarecrow, etc.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Frindle (carry a pen labelled "frindle" and a dictionary)
George's Marvelous Medicine (a mixing bowl?)
The Hundred Dresses (wear a shabby dress and carry a portfolio of 100 drawings of dresses)
Flour Babies (carry a 5-pound bag of flour)
Harriet the Spy (carry a notebook)
Coraline (carry a doll with button eyes)
My Father's Dragon (carry a coyp of the map)
The Shrinking of Treehorn (wear clothes way too big for you)
The Roman Mysteries (dress as a Roman)
Book Character Dress-Up Ideas
culled from listserv postings from LM_NET, OZTL_NET, and SLN
4 extra stocking/stuffing legs attached and a beret on your head = Miss Spider from James and the Giant Peach.
Straw hat, rolled up jeans with rope belt and suspenders-- Jack and the Bean Stalk, or a farmer from Several stories.
Black shirt, Black skirt, black hair, mole...Miss Viola Swamp
Pink sweatshirt and sweat pants....attach pink ears to plastic headband, add tail and nose... make a web to carry...Wilbur
I have worn a black skirt, black long sleeved blouse, made white paper cuffs to cover sleeves, enlarged Amelia Bedelia's hat on tag board, colored it, laminated it and attached tie strings to tie under my chin.
Grey sweat shirt, grey sweat pants, attached pink ears to head band, pant nose, whiskers onto face with acrylic pant, borrowed by son's toy motorcycle and was the Mouse of the mouse and the motorcycle or carry a lunch box and be the mouse in If You Take a Mouse to School...
Make a princess hat out of cardboard...weave a long braid from thick yarn and attach to princess hat. Wear an old gown purchased from resale shop....Rapunzel!
Wear a simple plaid skirt, white button up shirt and become Madeline.
Try a bonnet and an apron as an easy costume for Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Thing 1, using a red sweatsuit and a blue wig (got at Spencer's Gift) with a tag I made that said Thing 1. Can change to a blonde wig and use a headband with flowers sticking up from it, (got from Target) wore a dress to be Daisy Head.
Clifford is an easy costume to make using a red sweat suit, a red stocking cap with felt ears attached and a dog collar.
Once I was the fish and the cat from the Cat and the Hat. I made a big fish bowl out of huge laminate, but you could use bulletin board paper. I used a sandwich board types design. Then I drew a fish on a piece of cardboard and had it jumping out of the bowl. I put on a hat like the
Cat in the Hat and painted my face with whiskers.
Cat in the Hat--You can wear a black pair of pants, white shirt and red tie around your neck. Put on a black sweater or jacket. Then add a hat. If you do not have a Cat in the Hat - hat, then you can make one easily enough. Take a piece of bulletin board paper and add stripes. Make it into a cylinder then roll the bottom.
Harry Potter would be easy enough to do using a pair of glasses, a cape, glasses and a broom. Add a few freckles than fly on over to the party.
Waldo: blue jeans, striped shirt, and striped hat. Add stripes to a stocking cap with felt or paint them on.
"A Proper Little Lady" (Nette Hilton)
Strega Nona--just used a long skirt, long apron from the cafeteria and a scarf on my head and carried a "pot" for my pasta (a black plastic cauldron I found somewhere during Halloween).
The Paper Bag Princess (a big sack over the head)
"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein--to dress up as the giving tree, my daughter started by draping a green plastic (the throwaway kind) tablecloth over herself with a hole cut out for the head and gluing leaves on the outside. She held up her arms for branches.
Another year she wanted to dress as a chinese girl from a book she read (I don't remember the title). She had some silk pajamas and we made hera coolie hat from the top to a wicker hamper.
I dressed up as Gandolf, the wizard in the Hobbit by taking a large piece of purple fabric and wrapping it around myself robe style. A piece of poster board rolled into a cone became my wizard's hat. I added a tinfoil star and was ready to go!
I wore a brown velvet dress, a light blue blazer ($2 at a thrift shop) and made felt bunny ears to be Peter rabbit
The Mystic Connecticut library has children dress up as their favorite books. Get large boxes - or I would use posterboard made into sandwich boards - and hang from children's shoulders (I think you have all seen those people with walking bulletin boards on them). The children decorate the poster like the cover of their favorite book.
Last Halloween I was "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." I wore a brown turtleneck & pants. I cut palm fronds and hole punched them and used yarn to tie them to my shoulders. I cut more fronds and made a headband. Then I cut lower case letters using the Ellison machine and stapled them
onto long strips of felt. I carried a couple of coconuts for effect and put the verse on cardboard around my neck.
Pippi Longstocking--The key identifier was my hair which I braided and then stuck a cut up coat hanger on either side to enable it to stick straight out sideways. As a final touch I sprayed it red. My "costume" was a sailor-ish outfit to go with one of her seafaring books.
Miss Frizzle--At fabric stores there are a variety of prints that have items like dinosaurs, fish, etc. and making a simple jumper. My hair is not frizzy but that could be overcome by using a curling iron.
Amelia Bedelia. Wear a black dress with a white apron with pockets, a hat with an artificial flower. Have a box of dusting powder with a powder puff with which to "dust" the furniture.
The wolf from the true story of the three pigs (your vest and stuff, with wolf ears and nose added)
Mrs Whatsit from Wrinkle in time (as you may recall, she wore a bunch of castoffs in many layers--I raided my hubby's closet for rubber boots, flannel shirts etc.)
The scarecrow from Wizard of Oz (flannel shirt, overvalls, straw, straw hat...overdone stage makeup)
Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic Schoolbus series (I glued fabric fish onto a bright pink dress that I didn't wear much and put fish on my shoes)
Mary Poppins (the thrift store should have a black blazer and I have a black skirt the white blouse--a carpetbag and umbrella should do it)
Pecos Bill from folklore--jeans, a flannel shirt, a cowboy hat, belt and boots
The Pied piper with others as the mice. Costumes are grey sweats, headbands with mouse ears (grey with pink center) and a grey tail.
Captain Underpants this year.
Cow (Cows that Type)
Emily Elizabeth in Clifford books
Little Bill - from books by Bill Cosby; baseball cap, too big shirt, too big pants, sneakers, and a hamster
Olivia - pig ears, nose and tail; red ballet tutu, or any red clothing
Man in the yellow hat from Curious George - yellow hat, yellow shirt, yellow pants tucked into boots, and a George doll
Conductor from Polar Express - or Engineer
Witch from Van Allsburg's "Witchs Broom"
Dorothy, etc from Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland - Alice, Cheshire cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, March Hare, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, etc.
Little Women - hoop skirt dress, book for Jo, sewing for Meg, music for Beth and art for Amy
Pinocchio - Gepetto - white wig, glasses, bib apron, short pants tucked into white socks and dark shoes
Cruella De Ville - black sleeveless v neck dress, long red gloves, kitten heel dark shoes, lavender button earrings, old-style black purse with black and white fur attached; fake fur coat; Black and white wig (or color hair with temporary color)
Cinderella - Blue leotard; blue tutu; blue tights; blue or see through heels
Sleeping Beauty - fancy dress, long blonde wig, spindle, and maybe a pillow to lay your head on while you snore gently
Eloise
Any professor from Harry Potter by finding a black graduation robe at a thrift store. If you have someone with short hair, they could rat it out like professor Sprout's
Elphaba from the Gregory Maguire's Wicked, if you have someone willing to paint themselves green. Wear all black, long sleeves and a pair of cheap reading glasses (I took the glass out) I also had a long wig which I braided and a black beanie (similar to the way she is portrayed in the
musical version of the book)
You could also do Galinda or the more recognizable Glinda by finding a poofy prom dress at a thrift store. Princess tiara's are pretty easy to come by as well.
Humpty Dumpty
Tweedledum and his twin Tweedledee
Nursury Rhyme characters
Alice in Wonderland characters
Charles Schultz "Peanuts" characters
Arthur
Franklin
Junie B. Jones
Nancy Drew
Lion/Tin Man/Evil Witch of East/Glinda the Good Witch of the West/Wizard of Oz
Curious George
Bartholomew Cubbins and other Seuss characters
Blackbeard the pirate
Peter Pan/Captain Hook/Lost Boys/Tiger Lily/Tinker Bell
Sir Lancelot
Robinson Crusoe
Winnie the Pooh characters
Ramona Quimby
Lyle the Crocodile
Stan the Hot Dog Man
Pizza Pat
Dora the Explorer
Train Engineer : A pair of blue jeans, a blue Jean jacket, a red and black bandana. A blue and white engineer hat, a whistle, and play lantern—This description could easily become Casey Jones, the famous train conductor of American tall tale fame.
Spider: Black, For the legs grab some cheap black hose, stuff with any thing dark and light weight. Either sew, or staple to keep stuffing from falling out. Pin to clothing, add a little make-up-could quickly become Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
Bunny: A white, brown or grey sweatsuit, headband with bunny ears (can cut from paper and glue onto a plain headband), face paint, and a pom pom sewed on the behind of the pants-Max the Bunny (with a pair of green overalls added)
Grace from Amazing Grace
Kate the Cowgirl
Miss Allenious
Paul Bunyan- Jeans, flannel shirt, suspenders, fake axe.
Little Boy Blue - dress all in blue and carry horn
Jack be Nimble - dress like boy & carry candle.
Fancy Nancy
The pigeon from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus-a gray hooded sweat shirt and sweat pants, make eyes and beak out of posterboard or material.
The hungry caterpillar-costume made using 3 plastic hula hoops with a tube of green spandex stretched over them. I simply bought a length of green spandex, sewed a channel at both top and bottom for elastic, stitched the length into a tube, stretched the tube over the hula hoops and sewed the spandex in place on the hoops. I then sketched the caterpillar's face mask on poster board and trimmed and painted it to match the illustration. The whole production probably took me 3 hours (including shopping). I used the sewing machine at school and painted the mask using the supplies in the art room (after school). The hula hoops cost about $12 and the spandex about $8 (on clearance). Elastic was around $3 for a total cost of $23.
Harold the purple crayon--made out of a cardboard tube
I was Little Red Riding Hood once. I had on a long skirt and regular shoes and a white blouse. I bought a red cloth table cloth and fit it around my head and down my back to resemble a cloak. A basket with a handle was over my arm, with a dish towel and a loaf of bread inside. All day I asked everyone if they had seen a wolf. It was very funny.
I did Amelia Bedelia one time and the costume was easy to get together. I went to Wal-Mart and found a hat like hers and bought white flowers and put in the brim. I then got a black dress and a white apron. I picked up a feather duster and that was it. The kids all knew who I was when I walked into the building. Through out the day I would walk into classrooms and dust the furniture. The teachers knew I was going to do this and they did not care that I interrupted their classes. Actually, the teachers were use to me. If you have ever seen a filmstrip or video you know what her voice sounds like---I used her voice also. The kids loved it.
It takes a curly red wig (and actually clothes from my wardrobe) but I do Ms. Frizzle. I have an outfit with frogs, wear frog earrings, etc. It can be any theme. Put gray felt mouse ears on a headband, wear a gray sweatsuit and carry a large chocolate chip cookie (I wrap mine in plastic wrap to corral crumbs) and you are the mouse from If you give a mouse a cookie!
Amelia Bedelia - black dress; white pinafore apron; white hat
Eloise - white shirt, black pleated skirt, knee socks, mary janes
Babar - green suit; black shoes; derby hat
harry Potter - glasses; fake scar; wand; black robe (maybe from graduation?)
I'm going to be Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl tomorrow – digging out my cap and gown from my masters graduation. Last year I was Farmer Brown from Click, Clack, Moo - easy w/a straw hat and denim overalls.
My intern is painting herself stripes from Bad Case of Stripes. Last year's intern was Miss Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson. Our principal and asst. princ. are Thing 1 and Thing 2 complete w/red long johns, blue
wigs and kites.
a Very Grouchy Ladybug,
Dorothy from Wizard of Oz,
Pippi Longstocking
Junie B. Jones
Cat in the Hat - (and easy for the kids to guess). Wear black pants and black top, white gloves, pin on a tail (made or bought), tie a red bow around your neck, and of course then a hat. I made one from red and
white construction paper, just a red tube that I glued strips of white construction paper on, then I cut out a circle several inches wider in diameter than the tube. I traced the tube in the center of the circle, cut away most of the paper inside that line, but leaving about an inch, which I cut to tabs and glued to the inside of the tube at the bottom end. I hope that makes sense! Of course, you could also just buy a Cat in the Hat hat... (Not as easily available here in Sweden for me, though, hence the paper one).
if you can scare up some striped socks (try a soccer or volleyball player!) and a black dress you can be Miss Nelson!
Today I will be wearing a paperbag and a tiara - The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch!
Burglar Bill is good - black trousers, stripy top, eye patch. Swag bag possibly.
Goldilocks and the three Bears - for this I wore a basic blouse and skirt, had a box of readybrek hanging round my neck and carried three bears of different sizes; for Red Riding Hood for my daughter we improvised the clothes and hood and she had a basket of goodies for grandma; for Bobby from 'The Railway Children' I wore an old fashioned straw hat and made a flag from a garden cane and an old red silk blouse; witches are fairly easy if you have long hair or can borrow a wig and black hat. I have an 11 year old daughter so we tend to accumulate this sort of item.
Or Mary Poppins - long skirt and blouse, an umbrella with a cardboard parrot head stuck on it, a big spoon.
A few ideas: If the dress is very fancy, and you can get a white or gray wig, Marie Antoinette? Yes, she's far earlier period than this, but it's a possibility....or add a sheep and a mobcap, and you could go for Little Bo Peep (you could YA it up by making it a Killer Sheep...) Carry knitting needles, wear a beret or mobcap and talk in a fake French accent, and you're Madame De Farge (embellish a piece of fabric with a list of names and "To be guillotined" ? Paint your face white, add a lot of white tulle, and voila..you're a ghost. I'm not flashing on a particular one from a book, but I'm sure one's out there. And of course...whiten your face a tad, add fangs, and offer the kiddies chocolates, and you're poor Lucy from Dracula! (dribbles of red at the corner of your mouth optional of course...)