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Book Character Day has a way of sneaking up on a school. The flyer goes home, the date lands in a week that is already full, and the night before, somebody is standing in front of a closet trying to turn a cardigan into a costume.
This list is for the teacher in that spot. Every costume below starts with things most teachers already own, a dress, a striped shirt, a flannel, a long coat, and adds one or two inexpensive pieces. Nothing here needs a sewing machine, and you can still teach in every one of them.
Each costume comes with the book it is from, because the best moment of the day is a student who walks up, asks who you are, and gets handed the book. Book Character Day usually lands in October and comes back around Read Across America Day in early March, so this list covers both.
Dressing up is one way to make a school day different. Here is another. We made a free play-along video that teaches all 36 multiplication facts, hardest first, in three and a half minutes. The song calls every move, so nobody has to choreograph anything or know a single dance step. Watch the Multiplication Hustle play-along.
Free for your classroom
Teaching through October?
Grab the free Fall Math Pack. Twelve printable pages, including pumpkin arrays, an apple orchard multiplication maze, and a Fall Facts bingo set with caller cards for all 36 facts. It prints fine in black and white. Enter your email and the download link appears right away.
1. Matilda Costume
A blue dress, a red ribbon in your hair, and a stack of library books under your arm. Matilda is every kid who ever read past bedtime, which makes her an easy character to explain to a class.
From Matilda by Roald Dahl. Shop the book on Amazon
2. The Cat in the Hat Costume
Black clothes, a big red bow tie, and a tall red and white striped hat. Younger students will know exactly who you are from the other end of the hallway.
From The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Shop the Beginner Books boxed set on Amazon
3. Harry Potter Costume
A black robe, round glasses, a striped tie, and a lightning bolt drawn on with eyeliner. A pencil makes a perfectly good wand, and somebody will ask you to cast a spell before lunch.
From the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Shop the paperback box set on Amazon
4. Waldo Costume
A red and white striped shirt, jeans, round glasses, and a striped hat with a pom-pom. If your whole hallway does it together, you spend the day being found.
From Where’s Waldo? by Martin Handford. Shop the Waldo Watcher Collection on Amazon
5. Ms. Frizzle Costume
A bright dress covered in planets, stars, or anything science, wild red hair, and a stuffed lizard on your shoulder for Liz. Carry a toy school bus and you have the whole series covered.
From The Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Shop a Magic School Bus book on Amazon
A free printable for your classroom
Dressing up for book day? Make math just as memorable.
We created the Multiplication Hustle mountain poster for teachers who want multiplication to stick. It shows all 36 facts from the summit down, hardest first, so students always know where they are on the mountain. Enter your email and the download link appears right away.
6. Mary Poppins Costume
A white blouse, a long navy or black skirt, a black umbrella, and a hat with a flower or two on it. A carpetbag finishes it if you own anything close.
From Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. Shop the boxed set on Amazon
7. Sherlock Holmes Costume
A long coat, a scarf, and a magnifying glass. A deerstalker hat is the giveaway if you can find one, and the magnifying glass will get passed around all day.
From the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Shop the complete novels and stories on Amazon
8. Willy Wonka Costume
A purple jacket, a bow tie, a top hat, and a golden ticket you print and cut out. Print a few extras, because students will ask.
From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Shop the book on Amazon
9. Winnie the Pooh Costume
A red t-shirt that runs a little short, bear ears on a headband, and a honey pot. A small jar labeled HUNNY in marker does the job.
From Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne. Shop Pooh’s Library on Amazon
10. Alice Costume
A light blue dress, a white apron, and a black headband. Carry a pocket watch or a teacup if you want to nod to the rest of the book.
From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Shop the book on Amazon
11. Peter Pan Costume
A green tunic or long green shirt, a brown belt, boots, and a felt cap with a feather.
From Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Shop the Little Golden Book version on Amazon
12. Little Red Riding Hood Costume
A red hooded cape over almost anything, plus a basket. The cape does all the work, which makes this the most forgiving costume on the list.
From the fairy tale first written down by Charles Perrault. Shop the picture book on Amazon
13. Scarecrow Costume
A flannel shirt, loose jeans, a floppy hat, and yellow tissue paper or raffia poking out of the cuffs. Skip real straw; it ends up all over the room. This one works at a fall festival too, and it fits right into the barnyard trunk in our 20 trunk or treat ideas.
From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Shop the book on Amazon
14. Frodo Baggins Costume
A white shirt, a brown vest, and a ring on a chain around your neck. Bare feet are true to the book but not recommended in a school building.
From The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Shop the boxed set on Amazon
15. Pippi Longstocking Costume
Two braids that stick straight out (a pipe cleaner inside each one does it), mismatched striped stockings, and freckles drawn on. Nothing has to match, which is the point.
From Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. Shop the book on Amazon
16. Amelia Bedelia Costume
A simple dress, a white apron, and a small hat, plus a feather duster or a plate of something baked. She is the best costume on this list for teaching idioms, since every mix-up in the books is a figure of speech taken literally.
From the Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish, continued by Herman Parish. Shop the chapter book set on Amazon
17. Nancy Drew Costume
A cardigan or blazer, a knee-length skirt, and a magnifying glass, with a flashlight in your pocket.
From the Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene. Shop the books on Amazon
18. Madeline Costume
A navy dress with a white collar, a red bow, and a yellow hat with a ribbon. If your class walks in two straight lines, point that out.
From Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. Shop the set of four Madeline books on Amazon
19. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Costume
Dress in green and pin felt or cardboard cutouts of the foods from the book down the front: one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries, five oranges. With younger students, count them together. It is a counting book first.
From The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Shop the board book on Amazon
20. Anne of Green Gables Costume
A long green or floral dress, a white apron, two red braids, and a straw hat. Anne runs on imagination, which is a good thing to be dressed as in front of a class.
From Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Shop the complete 8-book set on Amazon
Before the day arrives
One practical note. Pick something you can teach in, sit in, and do lunch duty in. The costume gets attention for the first ten minutes of the day. The book is what makes the day worth it.
More for teachers
Need costumes for your own kids too? 20 Eye-Catching Costumes for October covers Book Character Day, fall festivals, and trunk or treat.
Working on multiplication facts this year? Start with What Is the Best App for Learning Multiplication Tables, then grab the free mountain poster above.
TimeTable Express
One more thing before Book Character Day.
The costume is the easy part. The hard part is that multiplication facts do not take a day off, and a student who is shaky on them in October tends to be further behind by January.
That is why we built TimeTable Express. It starts at the summit with 9 × 9 and uses the commutative property, so students learn roughly half as many facts to know all of them. A few minutes a day is plenty. It runs on iPhone or iPad, and it is free to try for 7 days.
Try TimeTable Express free for 7 days
The free Fall Math Pack is at the top of this post.
Books from The Multiplication Hustle
If your students need multiplication practice that actually sticks, both of our books are on Amazon:
- The Multiplication Hustle Practice Book: practice pages that work through the facts hardest first.
- The Multiplication Hustle Coloring Book: color by number, so practice feels like art class.
