Storybook Costumes
For Halloween or any time of year, bring books alive with these cute outfits.
Photographs by Jana Leon
Fairy princesses, fearless rescue heroes, dancing insects, and giant, talking mice — these are the delights of childhood imagination and the beloved stars of storybooks. Young children are the kings and queens of make-believe and the demanding directors of quick-change fantasy play. Halloween is a natural stage for little ones to act out and explore important themes. If your child will be celebrating Halloween this year, let his favorite stories be your costume guide. Our recommended books and easy homemade costume ideas can help you magically make the characters leap off the page! After October 31, keep the costumes handy for more pretend play. Also try these simple ideas for more costume inspiration.
Sweet Little Mouse
Silly Spider
Pretty Pink Princess
Fireman to the Rescue
Sweet Little Mouse
What you need:
Gray sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt
1/2 yard of pink felt
8" of gray yarn
12" x 12" square of yellow felt
glue gun or fabric glue
What to do:
1. Cut the pink felt into an oval shape (10" x 7") and glue to the sweatshirt to create the tummy.
2. Cut out two mouse ears (3" wide x 4" long) in the shape of a mouse hole (round on the top and flat on the bottom) from the pink felt.
3. Make a 1" vertical cut in the bottom center of the ear, and pinch the sides together to give it an ear shape.
4. Glue the ears to the top of the sweatshirt hood.
5. Gather a few lengths of the yarn for the tail. Braid the yarn and glue to the pants. Be sure to trim the yarn if you think your child might trip.
6. Cut the yellow felt into a triangle, complete with holes, to make a cheese accessory
What to read:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Little Mouse, Biddle Mouse, by David Kirk
Mouse Count, by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Mouse Mess, by Linnea Asplind Riley
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Silly Spider 
What you need:
bright yellow T-shirt
black, long-sleeved turtleneck
black pants or leggings
black shoes
two pairs of black tights
two pieces of black elastic (about 2 yards long)
2" Styrofoam ball
batting
black craft paper
pair of barrettes
glue gun
black and green paint
What to do:
1. To create the legs, cut off the tops of each pair of tights.
2. Knot one end of each leg and stuff with batting. Sew the open end to the T-shirt (a whipstitch is best).
3. Tie the black elastic cord to the bottom leg and wrap it around the middle leg, making sure to leave some space between the two (about 4" or 5" between each arm, depending on your child's size). Finally, tie a loop for your child's wrist at the top to create a "third leg."
4. Cut the Styrofoam ball in half (a serrated knife works well) and paint it green and blue to make eyes. Use black craft paper to cut out eyelash shapes.
5. Using a glue gun, glue the eyes to the barrettes and the eyelashes onto the back of the eyes.
What to read:
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, by Rosemary Wells
Little Miss Spider, by David Kirk
Spiders, Bats, and Pumpkin Eaters, by Mother Goose
The Very Busy Spider, by Eric Carle
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Pretty Pink Princess
What you need:
lots of pink clothes
roll of white easel paper
one sheet of stiff, bright yellow or gold craft felt (12" x 12")
one sheet of pink felt (12" x 12")
ribbon
decorative materials (buttons, stickers, sequins)
scissors
What to do:
1. Gather all the pink clothing — tights, socks, dresses, and shoes, for example. Invite your child to put them on.
2. To create an Elizabethan collar, cut the white easel paper into strips (4" wide x 50" long). Fold the paper accordion-style. Punch holes in one end, and string a piece of ribbon through the holes. Stretch it out a bit. (We trimmed the corners so they didn't irritate our model.)
3. Using the yellow craft felt, cut out the shape of a crown — triangles on top, flat on the bottom. Punch a hole at each end and tie closed with two pieces of ribbon. Glue decorations to the front.
What to read:
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela Lavigna Coyle
The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch
The Paper Princess, by Elisa Kleven
The Princess and the Pea, by Harriet Ziefert
Princess Penelope, by Todd Mack
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Fireman to the Rescue
What you need:
dark pants
dark coat
roll of glow-in-the-dark tape
roll of metallic tape
fireman's hat
boots
scissors
What to do:
1. Use the dark pants and coat as the basic costume.
2. To add reflector decorations, alternate strips of glow-in-the-dark tape and metallic tape around each sleeve and pant cuff. Do the same around the coat bottom.
3. Add boots and a fireman's hat.
What to read:
A Day with Firefighters, by Jan Kottke
Big Red Fire Truck, by Ken Wilson-Max
Clifford, the Firehouse Dog, by Norman Bridwell
Firefighter, by Michael Rex
