2021 Kids Book Week Costume Ideas

Ideas for dressing up from Old Worlds

Bring history to life again for a day. Or just let your kids step back to a time of not-so-long ago. Make sure you take the opportunity to find a book so your child can explore what the world was like at that Old World time.

For both boys and girls we have a great range of costumes that capture the look of another time.

• Classic fairytale costumes from yesteryear: there are so many good reasons to get your kids reading fairytales. Grow their imagination and inspire them to dream big.

• Mythical dragon and prehistoric dinosaur costumes: share a fantasy tale together or learn about dinosaurs and how they roamed the Earth.

• Historic figures: read an inspirational biography together and imagine what life was like back in these historic times.

• Decades now gone by: it might not seem so long ago to us but for kids even the 60s seems like the long ago past. Take time together to talk about the decades now long gone. Browsing through photo albums with parents and grandparents can be a history lesson in itself.

Options for New World Costumes

Imagine the New World of the future. Astronauts, Star Wars, aliens. Delve into books about space, rockets and stars. This is the world that lies ahead. Stretch their imaginations (and yours) as you try to guess what the world may be like in another 100 years.

Dressing up as if from Other Worlds

The Book Week theme of Other Worlds takes you as far as your imagination can go. Other Worlds could be the World of Disney, the World of Superheroes, the World of Makebelieve or the World Under the Sea. Or perhaps you are thinking about the worlds beneath the ground - Alice’s Wonderland or Upside Down World. This theme gives your child the opportunity to pretty much wear whatever costume takes their fancy. But make sure you find the book that explores the Other World captured by their costume.

• The World of Disney / The World of Fairytales: These are worlds that are meant for children. Buzzing with colour, happiness and happily ever afters. Find the costume of their favourite character. Watch the movie again together. Discuss how their favourite character demonstrates positive character traits - their resilience, their bravery, their kindness, their generosity. Read the fairytale together and let them act out the story in their costume.

• The World of Superheroes / DC Comic World / The Marvel Universe. All kids wish they were superheroes. Discuss the traits of the different heroes And then watch the tv show or movie together. Let them read superhero comics and discuss together which superhero power you would most want and why.

• The Fantasy World - the magical world of make-believe. The world of fairies and elves. Of wizards and witches. Worlds where wands make magic happen and wishes always come true. Watch a movie together and then re-read the book. Encourage their imaginative play by sprinkling some fairy dust and making a fairy garden with painted pebbles, feathers and flowers from the garden. Find a treasure map and hunt for the treasure together.

• The World of Wonderland and the wonderful Land of Oz. When Alice drops down the rabbit hole, and Dorothy follows the yellow-brick road, both these girls discover magical worlds filled with wonderful and crazy characters. Watch the movie together, and read the annotated book.

• Upsidedown World. This is an option for the older child who is wanting to dress up. Bring the world of Stranger things to life with costumes from this alternate dimension.