For some, Book Week is one of the most magical annual events in the Australian calendar – a time-honoured tradition stretching back generations (since 1945, specifically), where kids and their caregivers come together to get creative and celebrate their favourite stories and characters. For others, it’s just another tedious task that puts pressure on time-poor parents to whip up whimsy from their already-drained resources. Sometimes, it’s a bit of both.

There’s no doubt that, as with many other things, the rise of social media has seen the expectations around Book Week costumes soar, with the twin thieves of joy – competition and comparison – leading many parents to want to give up altogether or worse, pull out the Elsa and Woody costumes from the bottom of the dress-up box and call it a day.

The point of Book Week is, of course, to put books front and centre, and the costume frenzy can sometimes cause that to get lost. Because as much as kids might want to be a Disney princess or K-Pop Demon Hunter, it defeats the purpose (unless, of course, their primary point of contact for those characters is the book versions – in which case, break out the purple braids!).

It’s hard to keep up with the never-ending homework assignments of parenthood. But Book Week is a great opportunity to take a moment to connect with kids if you let the books lead the way, rather than the costumes. Going to the library or your home bookshelves and combing through them with your kids, having conversations about their favourite stories and characters, is far more important than any elaborately styled outfit.

Then, when it comes to the actual dressing up, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Adapting everyday clothing and household items you already own can be part of the fun – and online hubs like Facebook Marketplace are a great additional way to simplify the process, whether that’s by finding completed costumes that are being offloaded from Book Weeks past, or reusable items and materials you need to complete your kids’ looks.

Need more inspiration? Here are some basic foundations that can easily be adapted into all kinds of characters.

Flannel shirt and jeans/overalls

A farmer outfit can work for many books, including Raechel Whitchurch’s George the Farmer books, as well as the shortlisted 2026 Children’s Book of the Year title A Farm by the Sea by Jillian Packer. It’s also a great basis for a woodcutter costume – just add a cardboard axe to blend right into Little Red Riding Hood. Another option for an add-on is some shredded yellow or straw-coloured paper attached to the neck, ankles, sleeves, and a hat, to create a scarecrow costume that could fit a number of books, including The Scarecrows’ Wedding by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Grey hairspray and drawn-on wrinkles

This is all you need for a basic “old person” hair and make-up look that can be paired with clothes you already own (or even borrowed from grandparents) to make a grandparent character. You possibly already have the costume from a “100 Days” dress-up. Grandparents are central figures in so many beloved kids stories, from Little Red Riding Hood to Graeme Base’s My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch and Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There’s also Michel Deverall and Anna Demchenko’s My Gran Does Karate, Mem Fox and Patricia Mullins’ Shoes From Grandpa, as well as My Nonno Loves by Adelle Frittitta and Claudia Frittitta.

Red top and jeans

A surprising number of children’s book characters sport the simple but striking denim-and-red combination. This includes the main character in Shoes from Grandpa (add a skateboard to complete the look), Fern from E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (just pair with a toy spider and/or pig), and Grace from Alison Lester’s Are We There Yet? (a map of Australia is a good accessory here – especially with the family’s route marked out). There are also the titular characters in Be Careful, Xiao Xin by Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, Willa and Woof by Jacqueline Harvey, and Being Indy by Zoe Gaetjens and Estee Sarsfield.

Pink all over

Any combo of pink pants/top/skirt/dress can be the basis for a fun array of characters. Add mouse ears for Megan Hess’ Claris series, a horn (empty toilet roll, anyone?) for Aaron Blabey’s Thelma the Unicorn, or a tutu for Scott Stuart’s My Shadow is Pink. Pig ears and a snout can turn the costume into Piglet from A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web, or Babe from Dick King-Smith’s Babe: The Gallant Pig. A cake accessory, meanwhile, will help create the look of the hippo in There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards.

Coloured cardboard, texta and string

All you need is basic drawing and cutting skills to turn some coloured cardboard into wearable over-the-shoulder/around-the-neck costumes. Think any of the sheep in Mem Fox and Judy Horacek’s Where is the Green Sheep?, the crayons from Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers’ The Day the Crayons Quit, the foods the caterpillar eats in Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or any of Roger Hargreaves’ Mr Men or Little Miss characters. You could also take inspiration from the stunning visuals of many of the 2026 Children’s Book of the Year shortlisted titles, using varied shape combinations to conjure up The Colours of Home by Sally Soweol Han, The Emperor’s Egg by Rae Tann, Derek by Anne Donaldson and Matt Shanks, Dear Broccoli by Jo Dabrowski and Cate James, Bob and Dob by Sean E. Avery, Inked by Karen Wasson and Jake A Minto, and more. If all else fails, literally any book cover enlarged in a print-out, or even better, your kids’ own hand-drawn version, will make for a memorable – and meaningful – Book Week look.

What’s your favourite Book Week costume? Tell us in the comments below.

**Children’s Book Week runs from August 22 to 28. **

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