31 World Book Day costume ideas you can easily put together in minutes (2024)

The day when we celebrate books and our love of reading is coming up soon. World Book Day is happening on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Every year, thousands of schoolchildren in and around Birmingham get dressed up as their favourite book character.

You can order World Book Day costumes from Amazon and Argos has some good costume ideas too. However, it can be a lot cheaper to make your own. We have loads of fancy dress ideas that you can rustle up in minutes. It's often simply a case of looking at what you already have at home and thinking of the book character to match it. Or taking your child's hobby and working out which book character reflects it.

We've done the work for you here as we have 31 perfect book characters you can create by converting household items and existing fancy dress, and from borrowing accessories from friends and family.

Read more: Birmingham's amazing World Book Day costumes from 2023

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Please send your World Book Day photos via our Brummie Mummies Facebook and Instagram pages on Thursday March 7 as we'd love to see them and share them on our website and in the newspaper. And take a look at our World Book Day gallery to see all the fabulous pics of costumes families have sent in over the past couple of years:

This celebration of books, authors, illustrators and the joy of reading was created by the National Literacy Trust as a way of focusing on reading for pleasure, encouraging children to choose their own books to read and embedding a habit of reading that brings a wide range of benefits. Find out more via the World Book Day website here

Ahead of World Book Day, we caught up with Kerry Beale from the reading charity Coram Beanstalk on the Brummie Mummies podcast. She gave us loads of great tips to get kids reading. Listen here

Simple World Book Day costumes ideas

1. Wednesday Addams - There's been a resurgence of interest in The Addams Family, thanks to the Netflix series Wednesday. If your daughter has long black hair, plait it into two braids and dig out a black dress. You could make a white collar out of triangle napkins, fabric or cardboard. Add in her best sulky pout and you're sorted!
2. Gangsta Granny - This David Walliams favourite is a pretty simple costume to throw together. All you need is an old cardigan, a necklace and a wig or even just some talcum powder. Make your own eye mask using black cardboard. Ask grandad or grandma if you can borrow their walk stick for the day to finish it off!
3. The Gruffalo - This much-loved Julia Donaldson character isn't too tricky to recreate at home. All you'll need is one of dad's plain brown T-shirts or pyjama tops, a couple of empty egg cartons and some purple paint. Paint the egg cups then cut them into strips. Staple them as 'purple prickles' down the back of the brown T-shirt. If you want to go all out, then paint a Gruffalo face onto cardboard and add it to a lollipop stick so your child can hold it in front of their face.
4. Mr Bump or Little Miss Sunshine - Your child could go into school dressed as their favourite Mr Man or Little Miss. All you need is a brightly-coloured T-shirt to match your chosen character. Think orange for Mr Tickle, yellow for Little Miss Sunshine, green for Mr Nosey, pink for Mr Messy or red for Mr Strong. Add a bandage to a blue T-shirt for Mr Bump, blue gloves and sneakers to a yellow T-shirt for Mr Nonsense or pigtails and a cerise pink T-shirt for Little Miss Chatterbox.
5. Oliver Twist - Those old trousers that are a little bit too short or grubby? Perfect with a cap for Oliver Twist. Just get your son to practice saying 'please sir, can I have some more?'
6. Winnie the Witch - Stripy tights and a black dress are all that's needed for Winnie the Witch. You could make a black hat out of cardboard. If your daughter has a cuddly toy cat to take along then even better!
7. Matilda - Get two red ribbons - maybe leftovers from your Christmas wrapping. Tie one in your daughter's hair and the second around a pile of books. Add a blue dress, or blue skirt and top and you have Matilda!
8. George from George's Marvellous Medicine - Staying with the Roald Dahl theme, grab a used shampoo bottle and stick on a 'Medicine' label. Cover a spoon in silver foil to make the special medicine spoon and you have George.
9. The Snowman - Stuff a pillow inside an oversized white T-shirt, use face-paint for an orange nose and add an old hat to go as Raymond Briggs' The Snowman.
10. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger - Kids love going dressed as these favourite JK Rowling characters. Don't think you have to invest in a full blown cloak as any all-black outfit will work, especially if you team it with a scarf in red and gold Gryffindor colours. Team the outfit with a pair of round black glasses, or draw them on, not forgetting the all-important lightning scar for Harry. Make a wand using a stick or a cardboard tube.
11. Sophie from The BFG - Finish off the jam in the fridge and convert the jar into a 'Dreams Jar' by asking your child to draw a fabulous label to stick onto it. Find a pink dress and a pair of round glasses, or draw them on, and you have a lovely Sophie.
12. Gregg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid - You need to get a little creative with this one but it's easily achieved. Look at your child's Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and draw out the Gregg Heffley face onto cardboard. Cut it out and attach it to a stick so they can wear it in front of their face. Alternatively, you could punch holes in the sides and tie an elastic band so they can wear it on their head. Then get them to carry their backpack and a diary.
13. Pippi Longstocking - Raid Dad's sock drawer to see if he has any long stripy ones! This is all you need to go as Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking.
14. Billionaire Boy - Got a Monopoly board game at home? Give your child a wallet full of Monopoly money so that he can go as David Walliams' Billionaire Boy.
15. Pongo from 101 Dalmatians - Grab a plain white T-shirt and a black marker pen. Cover it with black dots and splodges to send your child in as Pongo from 101 Dalmatians. Same goes for Perdita. If you're feeling creative, you could make ears from cardboard or fabric too.
16. Tom from Beast Quest - Dig out a piece of cardboard, spray it gold and cut it into a fabulous shield to go as Tom from Adam Blade's Beast Quest.
17. Mr Twit - Always nagging your child to throw away their sweet wrappers rather than abandoning them on their bedroom floor? Get them to save them for a couple of weeks. Then stick them onto brown wool to make a yucky beard for Mr Twit!
18. Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Encourage your child to help you paint or colour a golden ticket to enable them to go as Charlie Bucket from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
19. Harry from Harry and the Dinosaurs - If your son or daughter loves playing with dinosaurs, pop all their dino figures into a bucket and send them into school. They'll be happy all day showing them off to their friends.
20. Interstellar Cinderella - Deborah Underwood's character Interstellar Cinderella only needs a pair of goggles to transform into a heroine capable of fixing fancy rockets.
21. Lola from Charlie and Lola - If your daughter is blonde, pop her hair into pigtails and send her in as Lola from Lauren Child's Charlie and Lola.
22. Dracula - Got costumes left over from Halloween? It matters not if the trousers are a little short! Vampire outfits and accessories can be utilised for The Little Vampire, Dracula or Ivy from My Sister, the Vampire. Make it even more spooky with a bit of face paint.
23. Funny Bones - Same goes for any leftover skeleton outfits. This would work for Funny Bones or Disney's Coco. A witch costume is ideal for Room on the Broom and Wizard of Oz characters too.
24. Where's Wally - It wouldn't be World Book Day without Where's Wally! All you need here is a red and white striped jumper, a woolly hat and round glasses. It's the same for Where's Wenda too. Just pair her outfit with a blue skirt.
25. Captain Hook - Many kids have pirate costumes they've been bought for Christmas. Don't worry if they're a little short or scruffy - that adds to the drama. These outfits can be transformed into Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow or Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
26. Angelina Ballerina - Does your daughter love ballet? If so, send her to school in her tutu or leotard and tights. She can instantly become Angelina Ballerina.
27. Simba from The Lion King - This one sounds complicated but it's really down to what you have at home. If you have a child who is always in their onesie, then make the most of it! A yellow onesie can become Simba from the Lion King.
28. Frankie from Frankie's Magic Football - Utilise your child's hobbies and they'll love their World Book Day costume. If your son or daughter is in a football team, why not get them dressed up in their kit to go as Frankie from Frank Lampard's book Frankie's Magic Football.
29. Flying Fergus - If your child enjoys riding their bike, send them to school in their cycling helmet to go as Chris Hoy's Flying Fergus.
30. The Greedy Python - Everyone always thinks of The Very Hungry Caterpillar when they think of Eric Carle. But what about The Greedy Python? If you have an unusual cuddly toy, draft excluder or doorstopper, make use of it! You can always pin it to your child's clothes to save them having to carry it around all day / lose it on the playground!
31. Tin man - Go as a classic character from the Wizard of Oz. Make a pointed hat out of cardboard and tin foil and then spray paint parcel packaging to create a tin costume to go over the top of a grey top and trousers.

Send us your World Book Day photos via our Brummie Mummies Facebook and Instagram pages or email them directly to zoe.chamberlain@reachplc.com - we'd love to see them and share them on our website and in the Birmingham Mail newspaper.

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