Seven cheap and easy costume ideas for Book Week

A Symphony of Stories will play out across schools and communities this Book Week (August 22-28), with kids across the nation dressing up as their favourite characters.

But if you’ve left choosing your costume for CBCA* Book Week to the last minute, don’t fret – we have some great suggestions for using things you may already have at home for the ultimate character transformation!

Frances Bloom: Dangerous Days
If adventure, mischief and zany clothing combinations are your idea of fun, then Frances Bloom could be the perfect costume for you!

To look just like Frances (and be super-comfortable) you’ll need to find:

•Stripy pink pyjamas

•A green scarf

•Yellow slippers or shoes

•If you’d like to be really authentic*, you could even carry a garden gnome – otherwise known as Grandpa Harold.

Mega Rich Guinea Pigs
These guinea pigs are mega rich, super cool – and they’re trying to save their fortune from some amazingly awful people.

For your costume as tennis-loving Lunk you’ll need:

•A headband

•A tracksuit

•A tennis racquet

G-Chip is a DJ, so you’ll need to wear:

•Sunglasses

•A chunky gold chain

•Headphones

•A hoodie.

Duck: When Nature Calls!
Duck, along with his friends Mouse and Dog, are determined to save the adults from being brainwashed* – and what better way to do it than by taking over the local radio station?

To look like Duck you’ll need to get a bit creative with:

•A brown top and trousers

•A white collar (make out of paper or cardboard)

•A yellow beak (this can be made out of cardboard or purchased)

•Headphones.

Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy*
For the cat lovers who also enjoy craft, the latest graphic novel from the Warriors world has some fabulous felines for you to dress up as!

To dress up as Brambleclaw on the front cover, you will need:

•Orange or light brown cats ears (you can make these using a headband and some cardboard)

•Orange or light brown top and trousers

•Orange or light brown tail (use an old pair of stockings and stuff one leg with squishy material, such as another pair of stockings)

•Black eyeliner to draw whiskers and a nose on your face.

Costa’s Garden: Fruit
Costa shrinks down into a gnome so he can show us how fruit grows, along with why it’s so important in the life-cycle of the garden.

To become Gnome Costa you will need:

•A blue top

•Brown trousers

•A red beanie

•Gumboots

•A basket with fruit.

Amira Swift: Talent Show and Fair Day Fun
Amira loves dancing, her BFFs and her family, and with two books there’s lots of costume ideas to choose from – including a dance uniform if you already have one.

To dress as Amira on the cover of Talent Show you will need:

•A pink jumper with yellow hearts (you could cut hearts out of yellow paper to stick on a jumper or cardigan you already have)

•A blue skirt

•Knee-high socks

•Sneakers

•Colourful hair clips.

If you need more inspiration for your perfect CBCA Book Week costume, have a look at the Funny Kid series by Matt Stanton, The Travelling Bookshop series by Katrina Nannestad or Jackie French’s Wombat picture books, which you can find in your school library or local bookstore.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• CBCA: Children’s Book Council of Australia, a non-profit Australian organisation that promotes literacy and reading among children and young people
• authentic: real, genuine, not fake
• brainwashed: when a person has been forced into changing their beliefs and attitudes using fear, control, hypnosis and other psychological tricks
• Prophecy: a prediction about the future from a divine source that people believe will come true

EXTRA READING
‘Digital detox’ a student success
From misbehaving to mega author
Five last minute Book Week ideas

QUICK QUIZ
1. Which piece of headwear could you use to dress up like Costa the gnome?
2. What are some of the props the characters in the article carry?
3. Which household objects can you use to dress up like a cat?
4. Which characters only require certain styles of clothing rather than specially made props or features?
5. What can you use to make a duck’s beak?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. More costume ideas
Can you help with coming up with more easy book week costume ideas?

Browse your classroom library, or remember characters from books you know. Write down the garments and accessories needed for three more book week costumes that can be obtained or made quickly. Make your lists in the same dot-point style used in the news story.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts

2. Extension
Identify a book character whose costume would be more difficult to create for your Book Week parade. Write a procedure explaining how you think the costume could be made. Make sure you list all of the required materials and equipment, as well as step-by-step instructions.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.