Reaching Readers: Halloween, Book Geek Style

Warning: This post will contain way too many pictures of my own children. I can't  help myself.

This time of year, there is no escaping this question:

“What are you going to be for Halloween?”

As the mother of 3 boys, sometimes I wish my kids would just pick “conventional” Halloween costumes like super heroes or ninjas. Then I could stroll into my local store, grab a costume, and go. But not my boys. I really shouldn’t complain. I’m the proud mom of book lovers. They got my genetics and my obsession with books.

So naturally, their choice of Halloween costumes revolve around their favorite reads. In past years we’ve had…Harry Potter

Poseidon (thank you Rick Riordan)

Continuing with mythology, we've had Thor:

We gave him his first haircut right after Halloween, but there was no doubt he had to be Thor with that fabulous hair

This year, all 3 of my boys are going with literary themed costumes. My oldest is dressing up as Bilbo Baggins, from THE HOBBIT. Don’t all 10 year old boys want to be a hobbit for Halloween? Apparently not. I had to drive around for half a day looking for this costume.

(That is not a picture of my son. That is some weird looking Fabio-esque child model that makes no sense to me)

Complete with hobbit feet:

And of course, the one ring:

That is not gold. That is excellent plastic.

My middle son’s costume is a bit more complicated. This year he chose to be Peter from NARNIA. For the outfit I convinced him to go with a basic knight’s tunic. But of course he’s Peter, not a generic knight. In came Dad to the rescue. Thankfully, my husband likes woodworking. This is Peter’s shield in the movie:

And this is the shield my husband was able to craft for our son:

The complicated part was getting the lion image right. My husband had to create a stencil of the lion and then spray paint the image onto the wooden board. Here is what the back looks like, fashioned with sturdy leather straps:

My youngest son is four years old. What will he be for Halloween?

Peter Pan!

Yes, it’s super easy to walk into your local store and pick up a bagged Iron Man, zombie, or Angry Bird costume. But why not give a literary themed costume a try for your book loving child? Here are some of my favorite suggestions:

Older Boys:

Harry Potter

Lord of the Rings characters (Aragorn, Bilbo, Legolas…)

Sherlock Holmes

Younger Boys:

The Man With the Yellow Hat

Winnie the Poo

Peter Pan

Where the Wild Things Are

Older Girls:

Katniss Everdeen

Hermione Granger
Bella Swan

Younger Girls:

Fancy Nancy

Tinker Bell

Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

Alice from Alice in Wonderland

Pippy Longstocking

And for more Halloween fun, check out Kidliterati contributor Melanie Conklin’s Trick or Treat for Books Contest. She’s giving away books!

Are you planning to be anything interesting for Halloween? Tell us in the comments below. Extra points if your costume is literary based!

-- Ella