37 Amazing Book Character Costume Ideas for Teachers

What better way to get your students interested in reading than to dress as their favorite book character? Whether it’s for Halloween or you need ideas for a Book Character Spirit Day, we’ve got you covered with these fantastic book character costume ideas for individuals and groups!

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Individual Book Character Costume Ideas for Teachers

Teacher dressed as Mo Willem's pigeon, with a sign saying Let me drive the bus! — Courtesy of Amy B., PreK-6 Librarian

1. Mo Willems’ Pigeon

Dressing like this beloved mischievous bird is easy with a clever knit cap. Attach the sign to a yardstick and stick it in your back pocket, and you’ll have a “caption” all day long!

Get the look: Pigeon Knit Cap on Etsy

Teacher dressed as the palm tree from the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom — Courtesy of Jenn White

2. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

We love the idea of being the coconut tree from this adored alphabet book! Add letters to a brown tunic and make yourself a headdress from construction paper.

Teacher dressed as the Very Hungry Caterpillar for Halloween — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Want to make this costume even funnier? Spend the day constantly eating some of the items from the book!

Get the look: Green Tutu on Amazon

Teacher wearing a green ribbon bow around her neck — Courtesy of Jen E., Middle School ELA Teacher

4. The Girl With the Green Ribbon

Remember that creepy tale from Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark? She’d never take off her ribbon and never tell anyone why …

Teacher wearing a plush donut costume — Courtesy of J. Douglas, 4th Grade Teacher

5. Arnie the Doughnut

If your students know Arnie (of graphic novel fame), they’ll snicker when you show up in this cute and super-easy book-inspired Halloween costume.

Get the look: Donut Costume on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the mouse from If You Take a Mouse to School — Courtesy of Jessica Arconti, Preschool Teacher

6. If You Take a Mouse to School

You can go the classic route with a big cookie, but this version of the book is even better for a teacher costume.

Get the look: Overalls and Mouse Ears on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's — Courtesy of Heather Q., 8th Grade Teacher

7. Holly Golightly

Channel your inner Audrey Hepburn for this costume based on the movie version of Capote’s classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Teacher dressed as the Mad Hatter for Halloween — Courtesy of Kathy G., High School Art Teacher

8. Mad Hatter

You’ll need a few special accessories for this teacher Halloween costume, but they’re pretty easy to find.

Get the look: Hat, Wig, Collar, and Bow-Tie set on Amazon

Librarian dressed as Pete the Cat, holding a stuffed Pete and a copy of a Pete the Cat book — Courtesy of Amy B., PreK-6 Librarian

9. Pete the Cat

Add big colorful buttons to a yellow shirt, add some cat ears, and you’ve got a Pete the Cat costume! If you can do the different-colored sneakers, even better.

Get the look: Colorful Plastic Buttons on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the main character from the book A Bad Case of the Stripes — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

10. A Bad Case of the Stripes

Kids will adore this super-colorful costume. If you don’t want to paint your arms and legs with face paint, you can buy striped clothes instead.

Get the look: Striped Leggings and a Striped Long-Sleeved Shirt on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Fly Guy and holding the picture book — Courtesy of of Sarah A., 2nd Grade Teacher

11. Fly Guy

Those fly eyes made from paper plates are totally cute and easy enough for any teacher to make. You can also make your own wings, or buy a pair to make the costume even easier.

Get the look: Bug Wings on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Phileas Fogg in a hot air balloon costume for Halloween — Courtesy of Lisa Jacobs

12. Phileas Fogg

If you really love putting effort into your costumes, take inspiration from this incredible Around the World in 80 Days costume! A giant beach ball balanced in a Hula-Hoop forms the “balloon,” and a pair of steampunk goggles adds an authentic touch.

Get the look: Beach Ball, Plastic Hoops, and Steampunk Goggles on Amazon

Teacher wearing a penguin costume with question marks attached — Courtesy of Haley Balog

13. Puzzled Penguin

This adorable penguin onesie costume is practically like wearing jammies to school. Just attach some question mark cutouts to transform it into the beloved book character.

Get the look: Penguin Onesie Costume on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the main character from the book Pinkalicious — Courtesy of Brooke Reynolds, 4th Grade Teacher

14. Pinkalicious

Is it possible to like the color pink too much? Nah, of course not!

Get the look: Pink Boa and Tutu on Amazon

Teacher dressed in a Ms. Frizzle book character costume — Courtesy of Ms. Tranchilla, 2nd Grade Teacher

15. Ms. Frizzle

This is one of those teacher Halloween costumes that’s become a perennial favorite. Don’t forget to attach a lizard friend to your shoulder!

Get the look: Planets Dress and Stuffed Lizard on Amazon

Teacher wearing a green dress with vines wrapped around it to be Poison Ivy for Halloween — Courtesy of Daletta G.

16. Poison Ivy

It’s easy to find artificial ivy strings. Just dress in green, wrap yourself in vines, and you’ve transformed into the classic comic book character!

Get the look: Artificial Ivy on Amazon

Teachers dressed in striped shirts in hats as Where's Waldo? — Courtesy of Brianna Sayegh

17. Where’s Waldo?

This one works as a solo costume or one for you and your teacher BFF. Wear your own striped shirt, or buy a costume instead.

Get the look: Waldo Costume on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Little Red Riding Hood — Courtesy of Liz B., Preschool Teacher

18. Little Red Riding Hood

This one is easy to create with a red cape and a basket full of treats. Got a teacher BFF? Ask them to be the Big Bad Wolf!

Get the look: Red Cape on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Snow White for Halloween — Courtesy of Kate A., Kindergarten Teacher

19. Snow White

Before she was a Disney princess, she was a fairy-tale character. Kids will recognize the Disney version best though.

Get the look: Snow White Costume on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Shrek for Halloween — Courtesy of Willa Barron

20. Shrek

Here’s another movie favorite that actually got his start in a book. Fortunately, you can pick up an easy all-in-one costume for the lovable green guy.

Get the look: Shrek Costume on Amazon

Group Book Character Costume Ideas for Teachers

Teachers dressed as Party Animals for Halloween — Courtesy of Kaitlyn H., Kindergarten, ESL Teacher

21. Party Animals

Mix animal costumes with birthday hats and noisemakers, and you’ve got the whole cast of characters from Tara Lazar’s adorable book!

Teachers wearing colorful tutus and t-shirts to represent One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish — Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher

22. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

The colorful tutus are fun, but it’s those headbands that really make this teacher team costume pop!

Get the look: Fish Headband and Tutu on Amazon

Teacher duo dressed as The Lorax and Sneed — Courtesy of Amy, PreK-6 Librarian

23. The Lorax and a Thneed

Spread an environmental message with your teacher Halloween costume! “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Get the look: Mustache and Eyebrows on Amazon

Teachers dressed as characters from Frog and Toad are Friends — Courtesy of Melanie Nielsen, 2nd Grade Teacher

24. Frog and Toad

This is an amazing costume idea for two teacher besties. They’re friends forever, just like Frog and Toad!

Teachers and school staff dressed as farm animals and other characters from Charlotte's Web — Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher

25. Charlotte’s Web

Want something the entire school can get in on? Try the farm animals and other characters from Charlotte’s Web!

A group of teachers dressed as characters from Laura Numeroff books — Courtesy of Stephanie Gable

26. Laura Numeroff Characters

If you give a teacher a Laura Numeroff book, they’ll turn it into a Halloween costume! Each teacher can pick their own favorite.

Teachers dressed as characters from The Magic Schoolbus — Courtesy of Gabriella S.

27. The Magic School Bus

Where would Ms. Frizzle be without the rest of the gang? Extra points if you can convince someone to dress up as the bus itself.

Group of teachers dressed as book character Junie B. Jones from different books — Courtesy of Gabriella S.

28. Junie B. Jones

This childhood favorite has been through dozens of adventures and looks a little different each time. That makes this a fantastic group costume, with each teacher dressing as their own version of Junie.

Teachers dressed as Winnie the Pooh characters for Halloween — Courtesy of Brooke B., 4th grade Teacher

29. Winnie-the-Pooh

You can go all out with Pooh-themed costumes, but you don’t need to. These simple T-shirts and headbands get the idea across perfectly and are much more practical.

Get the look: Winnie-the-Pooh Headbands on Amazon

Teachers dressed as characters from 101 Dalmations — Courtesy of Alex Jackson

30. 101 Dalmatians

This was a book before it was a movie! Spend a day being spotted puppies, and don’t forget to find someone to be Cruella de Vil.

Get the look: Dalmatian Onesie and Cruella de Vil Wig on Amazon

Teachers dressed as characters from the book The Bad Seed — Courtesy of Willa Barron

31. The Bad Seed

Pick up some big sheets of poster board and create your own costumes for the characters from the popular picture book series. These kids made their teacher dress up as the Bad Seed!

Teachers dressed as characters from the book Room on the Broom — Courtesy of Hilary Statum

32. Room on the Broom

This book is absolutely perfect for group teacher Halloween costumes. We especially love the teacher dressed as the broom itself!

Teachers dressed as characters from The Avengers — Courtesy of Stephanie Gable

33. The Avengers

We all know teachers are superheroes, so this group comic book costume seems especially appropriate.

Teachers dressed to represent the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? — Courtesy of Brooke B., 4th Grade Teacher

Teachers dressed as characters from Dr. Seuss books — Courtesy of Amy, PreK-6 Librarian

35. Seuss Characters

Every kid knows their Dr. Seuss characters, and the huge array of books gives you so many to choose from.

Get the look: Cat in the Hat Accessory Set on Amazon

Teachers dressed as crayons from the book The Day the Crayons Quit — Courtesy of Hayes Elementary 3rd Grade Teachers

36. The Day the Crayons Quit

This is a really popular book character costume idea, and it works well for big and small groups alike. Everyone can pick their favorite color!

Group of teachers dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz — Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher

37. Wizard of Oz

Another book-to-movie idea! This group costume idea is always a lot of fun, and there are lots of characters available for big teams.

Come share your book character costume ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!

For more ideas for teacher Halloween costumes, check out these Fantastic Halloween Costumes for Teachers.

Inspire the next generation of readers with a book character costume! Find ideas for groups and individuals, classics and new favorites.

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