Celebrating and inspiring the magic of reading with your little ones – the heart of Book Week, 17 to 23 August – doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether it’s for their school’s parade or for some fun family time at home, creating Book Week costumes can be an easy and fun-filled activity you can enjoy together.
This year, we’re highlighting an all-time classic, ‘The Gruffalo’, along with an out-of-the-box idea thanks to the Guinness World Records 2025 book, and a character from a brand-new novel by the beloved Australian author Andy Griffiths. Whether you have a toddler or tween, they’ll be sure to love these costume ideas. And the best bit? You can make them as simple or show-stopping as you like.
SEE ALSO: 3 Creative Kids’ Activities to Try at Home
Book Week Costume: The Land of Lost Things
You never have to twist their arm to wear a cardboard box on their heads, right? Andy Griffiths’ new novel ‘Adventures Unlimited: The Land of Lost Things’ provides the inspiration you need to create an easy, but still crafty costume, based on the official Make Your Own Adventure Helmet guide.
What You’ll Need:
- A cardboard box
- Studymate Soft Grip Student Scissors 6.5"/165mm
- Studymate Glue Stick 35g
- Born 12mL Acrylic Paint 24 Pack
- Born Acrylic Paint Set 40 Pieces
- Born Hog Paintbrush 10 Pack
- Born Taklon Value Paintbrush 50 Pack
- Kadink 70gsm Easel Roll 30m x 45cm White
- Keji Coloured Pencils 12 Pack
- Sabco Natural Wood Scrubbing Brush
- Kadink Construction Paper A4 Assorted 500 Pack
- Educational Colours Hygienic Craft Rolls 110 Pack
- Studymate High Temperature Glue Gun
Instructions
Step 1: Start by cutting open your box and folding it into a rectangular shape that will fit over your child’s head. You may have to remove some flaps and re-adhere them to make the right box shape.
Step 2: Once your box is ready, use scissors and cut open the mouth shape using the tip like a scalpel. The mouth will double as the eye-hole for the costume when worn.
Step 3: If needed, paint over any words on the box, then give the whole face of the box a coat of light brown paint.
Step 4: Using black paint, add a big rectangle above the mouth, then add a line around the edge of the mouth.
Step 5: Using a blue Posca pen, add in the blue markings and details to the face and sides of the box. Repeat the same with a paint brush and yellow paint as they are thicker.
Step 6: Take two cardboard rolls, and using hot glue, adhere them to the sides of the box.
Step 7: Paint the base of a scrubbing brush purple and the tips a grey-ish white before glueing it to the top of the box.
Step 8: Cut a long strip of white butchers paper to make the sash, and take a smaller piece of paper to glue over three pencils. Secure the sash with some tape once you are ready to put on the costume.
Five Minutes With Andy Griffiths
We asked Andy for the details behind his soon-to-be-released book ‘Adventures Unlimited: The Land of Lost Things’ (available from 13 August).
What was your inspiration for Adventures Unlimited?
“To create a heady mix of fantasy, adventure and comedy that sweeps the reader away in a heavily illustrated adventure that they’ll never forget, just like the sort of books I used to love as a kid and still seek out as a grown-up!”
Tell us about your inspiration behind the characters of ‘Me’ and ‘You’
“Well, one of the most common requests from readers over the years has been, ‘Can you put me in your next book?’ So I thought it would be really fun to write a book in which ‘Me’ (the writer) and ‘You’ (the reader) have a wild adventure together. I figured if we were wearing adventure suits with cardboard boxes on our heads then all readers everywhere, regardless of their age, gender or nationality, would be able to easily identify with the ‘You’ character.”
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
“The idea that reading is a wildly imaginative adventure with no limits! And to always remember to take their lucky rabbit’s foot with them if they're going on an adventure… or else!”
SEE ALSO: 3 Boredom-Busting DIY Construction Activities for Kids
Book Week Costume: The Gruffalo Beanie
He’s the woodland monster we all know and love, and an iconic Book Week staple. Transforming an old beanie into The Gruffalo will make for a toasty warm costume your kids can wear over and over again.
What You’ll Need:
- A brown beanie
- Studymate High Temperature Glue Gun
- Studymate Soft Grip Student Scissors 6.5"/165mm
- Kadink Felt Sheets A4 7 Pack
- Quill A4 120gsm School Cover Paper Assorted 250 Pack
- Studymate Glue Stick 35g
- POSCA PC 5M Paint Marker Assorted 8 Pack
- Keji Graphite Pencils HB 5 Pack
Instructions
Step 1: Using felt, cut out all the pieces you need for The Gruffalo’s face, like orange eyes, a brown nose, a green wart, teeth, horns, ears and purple prickles.
Step 2: Using a hot glue gun, adhere them to your beanie, tucking the teeth into the fold of the beanie.
Step 3: Then to make the paws, start with a thin strip of black paper, and using a glue stick, adhere the ends together to make a loop.
Step 4: On a piece of brown paper, roughly trace a hand, making the fingers fat with pointy ends. Then cut small white claws and glue them to the tips.
Step 5: Take a Posca pen and make fur markings across the paper.
Step 6: Glue the claw to the black paper loop, so a hand can slide in to hold it.
Book Week Costume: The Gruffalo Mouse Headband
If your child wants to go as the oh-so-brave Mouse instead of The Gruffalo itself, this simple felt and cardboard headband is easy to make, and will win over the book lovers at school.
What You’ll Need:
- Studymate High Temperature Glue Gun
- Studymate Soft Grip Student Scissors 6.5"/165mm
- Born Designer Wire 20 Gauge 10m Gold
- Kadink Felt Sheets A4 7 Pack
- Quill A4 120gsm School Cover Paper Assorted 250 Pack
- Studymate Glue Stick 35g
Instructions
Step 1: Take a piece of A4 brown paper and cut two long strips (or one strip from A3 paper). Glue them together at one end, then measure around the child’s head, before trimming and glueing the other end to fit snugly.
Step 2: Using felt, cut out a base for the head, as well as the extra pieces for Mouse’s face, like white eyes, a pink nose, black whiskers and big brown and pink ears.
Step 3: Arrange all the pieces onto the brown base, and once you’re happy, glue them into place using a hot glue gun.
Step 4: Then take some fine wire, make a loop and glue it onto the back of the ears to stop them from flopping down.
Step 5: Once dry, glue the whole base of the face to the brown paper headband.
SEE ALSO: 5 Fun DIY Paddle Pop Stick Craft Ideas
Book Week Costume: Guinness World Records – World’s Largest Display of Candies
You can easily lose hours poring over all the cool records people broke in the past year when flicking through ‘Guinness World Records 2025’. But the record for world’s largest display of candy varieties, which was achieved by Tom’s Confectionery Warehouse in Melbourne in January 2024, has to be the sweetest to recreate for a Book Week costume. With a mix of tissue, crepe paper, cellophane and coloured pens, you can transform anyone into a bright shelf of lollies.
What You’ll Need:
- Kadink Tissue Paper 50 x 100cm 8 Pack
- Kadink Crepe Paper 50cm x 1m Assorted 24 Pack
- Studymate Soft Grip Student Scissors 6.5"/165mm
- Studymate Glue Stick 35g
- Studymate High Temperature Glue Gun
- POSCA PC 5M Paint Marker Assorted 8 Pack
- Kadink Satin Ribbon 8mm x 1m 6 Pack
- Kadink Clear Roll 760mm x 10m
- Quill A3 Paper 125gsm Assorted 250 Pack
- Quill A4 120gsm School Cover Paper Assorted 250 Pack
Instructions
Step 1: To make paper lollipop candies, create a template that will help you trace the swirls onto your coloured paper. Once you’ve traced on your swirls and cut out the circles, use paint markers to add thinner coloured swirls.
Step 2: Create the chocolate freckles by taking scraps of coloured paper and making lots of little incisions, then trimming the paper into bowls, making a fine confetti. Cover some brown paper in glue, spread the confetti onto a clean piece, then press the brown paper, glue-side down, onto the confetti. Once dry, cut into little circles.
Step 3: Make more lollies by scrunching some tissue paper, taking a smooth piece and folding it over the top, then wrapping it bon-bon style with clear cellophane and finish with ribbons.
Step 4: For the base, take a plain piece of cardboard and cover it in bright paper. Pop two small holes at the top and thread ribbon through and secure so it can hang around a neck, like a necklace.
Step 5: Glue all your ready-made candies onto the base using a hot glue gun.