39 Easy, Last Minute World Book Day Costume Ideas (for Kids)
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Book Day Costumes for Kids
Does your child’s school celebrate World Book Day? If yes, then you will definitely need a World Book Day costume/character book costume for your kid.
But where does one even start to get a Book Day costume for kids? If you are a busy mom or dad, the idea of finding a World Book Day costume for your child is kind of overwhelming.
What's an easy World Book Day costume for kids? If you would prefer to just buy some clothe on Amazon for a World Book Day and call it a day, you are in luck.
This costume guide is all about easy World Book Day costumes for kids.
Below you will find last-minute book day costumes for kids that you can easily buy on Amazon.
You'll also find the World Book Day books to purchase as well.
Whether you have a boy or a girl, you'll find a Character Book Day costume that your child will love. You'll also find what you need for popular Book Day costumes like Matilda, Eloise, and Harry Potter.
Easy Book Day Costumes for Kids You Can Buy on Amazon
These last-minute Character Book Day costumes can all be purchased on Amazon and delivered quickly (in 1-2 days!).
1. The Rainbow Fish
This World Book Day costume idea is perfect for girls!
What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
2. The Lion Inside
This easy Book Day costume is perfect for toddler boys!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright
3. Harry Potter
This Book Day costume idea works for elementary school kids as well as 11-year-olds and 12-year-olds!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. Princess BMX
This DIY World Book Day costume for girls is so cute!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy Princess BMX by Marie Basting
5. Ms. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus
This World Book Day costume is perfect for little girls, especially if they have red hair like Ms. Frizzle!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
- Ms. Frizzle dress for kids
- Ms. Frizzle earrings (optional)
- Pet chameleon stuffed animal (optional)
Buy The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole
This World Book Day costume is also great for adults!
Check out what you need for this adult World Book Day costume here.
6. Matilda
Dressing up as Matilda from "Matilda" is a great Book Day costume idea for toddler girls!

This Matilda World Book Day costume is so adorable!
What you'll need for this Matilda World Book Day costume:
7. Mary Poppins
For a creative DIY costume idea, have your kid dress up as Mary Poppins! If you have a boy at home, he can dress up as Bert!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
8. The Gruffalo
This World Book Day costume idea is perfect for boys in the 1st grade or the 2nd grade!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
9. Little Red Riding Hood
Dressing up as the Little Red Riding Hood is a great last-minute Book Day costume for girls...and your daughter can wear this costume again for Halloween!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy Little Red Riding Hood by Gaby Goldsack
10. Cruella
For a modern Book Day costume, have your girl dress up as Cruella!

What you'll need for this World Book Day costume:
11. Alice in Wonderland
The great thing about having your kid dress up as a character from Alice in Wonderland for World Book Day is that they can dress up as Alice, The Mad Hatter, the Chesire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, or the White Rabbit.
What you'll need for this World Book Day costume:
- Alice in Wonderland kids costume (on Amazon)
- Mad Hatter costume (costumes for both boys and girls on Amazon)
Buy Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
12. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Dressing up as Goldilocks is such a cute character costume for little girls to wear on World Book Day!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Parragon Books
13. The Cat In the Hat
This last minute Book Day costume works for both boys and girls!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
Buy The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
14. Giraffes Can't Dance
This World Book Day costume for girls is so, so cute!!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
- Giraffe costume for kids (on Amazon)
Alternative Character Day costume:
- Giraffe onesie
- White sneakers
Buy Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
15. A Bar Called Paddington
For a fancy World Book Day costume, have your little girl dress up as Paddington!

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
- Paddington Bear costume (on Etsy)
Buy A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
16. Pete the Cat
This Book Day costume for boys is adorable!

What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
Alternative Pete the Cat Costume:
- Pete the Cat t-shirt
- Black pants
- Pete the Cat ears headband
- White Converse shoes
Or, you can make your life easy and just buy the Pete the Cat kid's costume on Amazon for Character Day.
Buy Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean
17. Corduroy

What you'll need for this Book Day costume:
- Corduroy overalls (sizes: baby to 4-5T on Amazon)
- Brown long sleeve shirt
- Black face paint for Corduroy nose
- Corduroy headband
18. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

This Character Day costume is so cute! 🍪
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Jean overalls
- White t-shirt
- Black face paint for mouse nose and whiskers
- Mouse ears
Buy If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
19. If You Give a Dog a Donut
Your child will love this Character Day costume idea! 🍩
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Dog onesie (exact same onesie shown above!)
Buy If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff
20. The Good Egg

If you want to go all out for Character Day, you can make your own DIY Character Day costume with cardboard cutouts and construction paper.
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
Buy The Good Egg by Jory John and Pete Oswald
21. Llama Llama Red Pajama
Your kid will love this Character Day costume idea! Dressing up as the llama from Llama Llama Red Pajama is an excuse to wear pajamas to school!
What you'll need for this Character Day/ Book Day costume:
Or, you can buy the Llama Llama costume for kids and toddlers on Amazon.
Buy Llama Lamma Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
22. Arthur's Eyes

This Arthur Character Day costume is cute and such an easy last-minute costume idea!
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Yellow knitted sweater
- Light jeans
- Arthur ears (or complete Arthur costume set with ears + glasses)
- Round glasses
- White sneakers
Buy Arthur's Eyes by Marc Brown
23. Captain Underpants

This Character Day costume is perfect for boys!
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Yellow knitted sweater
- Light jeans
- Arthur ears (or complete Arthur costume set with ears + glasses)
- Round glasses
- White sneakers
Buy The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
24. The Day the Crayons Quit

Get this easy World Book Day costume:
- Crayon costume for kids (on Amazon)
Buy The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
25. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

This World Book Day costume is so cute! 😍
Get this World Book Day costume for kids:
Buy Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
26. Room on the Broom

This Character Day costume idea is so cute! 🧙🏼♀️🐶🧹
What you'll need for this DIY World Book Day costume:
Buy Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
27. Charlotte's Web

This Character Day costume is great for 10-year old girls. An alternative version of this World Book Day costume is to dress in a spiderweb costume!
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Flannel shirt or red shirt
- Stuffed animal pig
- Spider (optional)
Buy Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
28. Ladybug Girl

This Character Day costume is cute! Plus, your girl can wear this costume again to dress up as a ladybug for Halloween.
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
Buy Ladybug Girl by David Soman
A twist of this World Book Day costume idea is to dress up as a grouchy ladybug (from The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle).
29. The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George

This Character Day costume is perfect for toddler boys. Plus, your boy will look so handsome dressed up as The Man in the Yellow Hat!
Another version of this World Book Day costume for boys is to have your son dress up as Curious George.
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
- Yellow hat
- Yellow pants
- Yellow shirt
- Yellow tie with polka dots
- Curious George stuffed animal (optional)
- Alternative costume: Curious George onesie
Buy Curious George by H. A. Rey
30. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This DIY World Book Day costume is cute! 🐛
What you'll need for this World Book Day costume for kids:
- Green sweatshirt and sweatpants
- Caterpillar headband
- Hungry caterpillar felt pieces (optional; on Etsy)
Or you can buy The Hungry Green Caterpillar character costume on Amazon for kids.
Buy The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
31. A Bad Case of Stripes

This Character Day costume for girls is so cute!
What you'll need for this cute World Book Day costume idea:
- Rainbow socks and arm warmer gloves
- Colorful tutu
- Black or white t-shirt
- Pink bow for your hair
Buy A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
32. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

This World Book day costume is a classic!
What you'll need for this World Book Day costume:
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish t-shirt
- Red tutu
- Black leggings
Buy One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
33. Eloise

This character book day costume for teachers is so cute!
What you need for this Eloise teacher costume for World Book Day:
- Black skirt with suspenders
- Pink bow
- White blouse with puff sleeves
- White socks
- Black flats
- Skipperdee turtle (optional)
34. Junie B. Jones

This is an easy DIY costume for World Book Day.
What you'll need for this Junie B. Jones Book Day costume:
- Pink sweater
- Purple skirt
- Pink headband for your hair
- White socks
- Black flats
Buy Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park
35. Thelma the Unicorn

This World Book day costume for girls is so cute! 🦄🦄
What you'll need for this Character Day costume:
Buy Thelma The Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
36. Not Quite Narwhal
What you'll need for this easy Book Day costume:
Buy Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
37. Green Eggs and Ham
This Book Day costume for kids is cute!
What you'll need for this Green Eggs and Ham costume:
Buy Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
38. Amelia Fang

Dressing up as Amelia Fang is such a unique Character Day costume idea!
What you'll need for this World Book Day costume:
- Black tutu
- Black and white tights
- White blouse
- Black vest
- Orange hair bow
Buy Amelia Fang & The Barbaric Ball by Laura Ellen Anderson
39. Matilda

What you'll need for this World Book Day costume:
- Light blue dress
- Red bow
- White socks
- White sweater
Summary – Last Minute Easy World Book Day Costumes
In summary, there are so many Book Day costumes and Character Day costumes to choose from!
Thankfully, you can easily put together a last minute World Book Day costume for your kids with clothes, accessories, and a book from Amazon.