World Book Day Fancy Dress Ideas
World Book Day is celebrated in schools across the globe to promote a love of books and reading. In the UK, schools (particularly primary schools) often devote an entire day to World Book Day, and this usually involves pupils coming to school dressed as their favourite book character.
Although this can be fun, it can also be the source of much stress and hassle. I have worked in primary schools for the last eight years, so I am fully aware of the difficulties parents and pupils face when trying to come up with the right World Book Day fancy dress costume. In an attempt to make things a bit easier, I have put together a massive list of World Book Day costume ideas. I’ve seen some of these costumes work really well in the past, but some of the ideas are new and haven’t been put to the test. Some of these costumes can be purchased from online fancy dress shops (see links below), some you will be able to rent or buy from your local costume shop, and some will require a bit of creativity.
So, in no particular order…
Fairy Tale Fancy Dress Costumes
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Cinderella
- Snow White
- Three Little Pigs
- Sleeping Beauty
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Gingerbread Man
- Red Riding Hood
Lord of the Rings Fancy Dress Costumes
- Gandalf
- Frodo
- Legolas
- Gimli
- Aragorn
- Arwen
- Galadriel
- Gollum
Roald Dahl Characters Fancy Dress Costumes
- Charlie Bucket
- Willy Wonka
- Oompa Loompa
- Fantastic Mr Fox
- The Twits
- Matilda
- The Witches
- Giant Peach
- Bugs (from James and the Giant Peach)
Alice in Wonderland Fancy Dress Costumes
- Alice
- Mad Hatter
- March Hare
- Cheshire Cat
- Queen of Hearts
Wind in the Willows Fancy Dress Costumes
- Ratty
- Mole
- Badger
- Toad
- Weasels
Harry Potter Fancy Dress Costumes
- Harry Potter
- Ron Weasley
- Hermione Granger
- Dumbledore
- Hagrid
- Severus Snape
- Voldemort
Chronicles of Narnia Fancy Dress Costumes
- Aslan
- Prince Caspian
- Tumnus
- White Witch
Wizard of Oz Fancy Dress Costumes
- Dorothy
- Tin Man
- Lion
- Scarecrow
- Wicked Witch
Peter Pan Fancy Dress Costumes
- Peter Pan
- Wendy
- Tinkerbell
- Captain Hook
- The Lost Boys
Robin Hood Fancy Dress Costumes
- Robin Hood
- Friar Tuck
- Little John
- Maid Marion
- King John
- Sheriff of Nottingham
King Arthur Fancy Dress Costumes
- Merlin
- King Arthur
- Sir Lancelot
- Guinevere
Winnie the Pooh Fancy Dress Costumes
- Winnie the Pooh
- Tigger
- Owl
- Eeyore
- Piglet
Beatrix Potter Fancy Dress Costumes
- Peter Rabbit
- Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
- Jeremy Fisher
- Jemima Puddle-Duck
Other Book Character Fancy Dress Costumes
- Meg and Mog
- Mildred (from The Worst Witch)
- Horrid Henry
- Perfect Peter (from The Horrid Henry series)
- Wally (from the Where’s Wally? books)
- The Gruffalo
- Max (from Where the Wild Things Are)
- Long John Silver (from Treasure Island)
- Mr Men
- Noddy (from the Enid Blyton stories)
- Dracula
- Captain Underpants
Some of the above costumes can be purchased from these online costume shops:
In my experience, it is hardest to find a suitable World Book Day costume for Year 5, Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8 girls. Striking the right balance between what is appropriate for school and what will look fashionable and not babyish is really tricky. Here are some ideas:
- Tracy Beaker (from the Jacqueline Wilson stories)
- Dorothy (from The Wizard of Oz)
- Pocohontas
- Tinkerbell (from Peter Pan)
- Lyra (from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy)
- Mina (from Skellig by David Almond)
- A cat (too many stories to list)
- St Trinians
- Hermione Granger (from the Harry Potter books)
- A pirate
- Red Riding Hood
- A cowgirl
- Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)
- Bella (from Twilight books)
If your school allows you to come dressed as a comic book character, you have even more choices:
- Catwoman
- Supergirl
- Wonder Woman
- Batwoman
- Minnie the Minx
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have come up with a fantastic World Book Day outfit, I would love to hear from you in the comments. If you have read the above suggestions, yet are still stuck, also leave a comment – we might be able to help yo come up with something.