Easy Halloween costumes for characters from children's books

Looking for a quick and easy Halloween costume you can make yourself? Try these great ideas from fellow bloggers for characters from popular children's books. These ideas work for both kids and adults.

Maureen from Confessions of a Bibliovore suggests:

• Fern from Charlotte's Web: a farm girl costume
• Mrs. Whatsit from A Wrinkle in Time: Crazy scarves, hats and skirts.
• Harry Potter: Graduation gown, round glasses and a mascara scar
  

Pam from MotherReader suggests:

• The Cat in the Hat: get a red and white striped hat and a black tail. Wear all black. Cut the "bib" from a white T-shirt/undershirt. Tie a red bow around your neck with cloth. Draw on whiskers.

Andrea from Three Silly Chicks suggests:

• Pippi Longstocking: Make a wig with red warn and wire.
• Waldo: Dress in red and white striped clothing and a stocking cap. Go from house to house asking if anybody if they've seen Waldo.
  

Wendie from Wendie's Wanderings suggests:

• Professor McGonagall: Use your grad gown. A loooong pretzel makes a good wand. It's great for keeping that feather in the air, too. Additional suggestion from Susan: Add glasses, a witch hat and put your hair in a bun (if possible).
• Little Red Riding Hood: A red cape and carrying a basket (with a wolf inside it).
  
• Wear an orange blouse and put pumpkin eyes, nose, and mouth on the back of it. You could be Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater or The Great Pumpkin.
  

Stacy from Booktopia suggests:

• Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson is Missing: Black dress, striped tights, black nails, messy black wig.
  

From my friend Cate, who always has great suggestions:

• Knuffle Bunny: Put on bunny ears, a tail and whiskers.
  

Also, see this post from last year, for some punny Harry Potter Halloween costume ideas that Cate and her husband came up with.

My ideas:

• The Pigeon from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: Dress in blue. Draw on a beak. Carry a toy hot dog and a bus.
  

Do you have any more ideas? I'd love to hear them. Please leave them in the comments.

I'm not ready for Halloween

It's January, you say? As I immerse myself in the Summer 2008 publisher catalogs, I find it hard to believe you.

Why on earth am I reading about books that will be published so many months from now? Because, that's the way the industry works. As a book buyer, you have to order books incredibly far in advance to ensure that they arrive on the doorstep of your bookstore the minute they're published.

But wait, it's worse than you think. I'm not reading about books that have anything to do with summer. Those books were in the Spring 2008 catalogs, of course, which we ordered from in October 2007. I'm reading blurbs (and advance reading copies) of books about the first day of school and Halloween. HALLOWEEN!!

I'm just not ready to think about Halloween yet. For starters, it just happened. We just got the Halloween books from this year out of the store. And it's nine months away. I'm still recovering from Christmas.

If you're frustrated that Valentine's Day displays are already appearing in stores, just be thankful that the retail industry doesn't operate as far ahead as the publishing industry.

Off I go to read about ghosts and pumpkins.

Have a very Harry Christmas

I wish you a merry Christmas today.

And if you're a a Harry Potter fan:

Wizards Wireless is honoring the occasion by playing "A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love" by Celestina Warbeck all day.

Your presents will appear magically at the foot of your bed (I hope you don't receive any from Kreacher, Lavender Brown or the Dursleys.)

Mrs. Weasley knitted you a lovely sweater and baked you a dozen homemade pies.

Hagrid made you a big box of treacle fudge, which you should warm up in front of the fire before eating.

Don't eat chocolate cakes left in the Entrance Hall as they may be filled with a sleeping draft.

Dinner will be served in the Great Hall, and you don't have to sit next to Professor Trelawney unless you want to.

Make sure to pull a wizard cracker during dinner.

Remember that the mistletoe is probably full of knargles.

Don't forget to visit your relatives at St. Mungo's.

Be sure to leave a wreath of Christmas roses on your parents' graves.

You should feel free to pelt Percy with mashed potatoes if he shows up at your house uninvited.

Have a lovely day (and you earn ten points for Gryffindor if you recognized what Harry Potter book the title of this post comes from.)

Harry Potter Halloween costumes

Need a creative Harry Potter costume? My very punny friends Cate and Josh came up with some great ideas:

Cate's idea: Put on a wig and a fake beard, and carry around a garden pot and a spade. You'd be a Hairy Potter. (Harry Potter)

Josh's idea: Dress like a door and carry a bell with a dunce cap on it. You'd be a Dumb Bell Door. (Dumbledore). Alternatively, you could dress like a door and carry a dumb bell weight.

My idea: Put a wig on your head. Head Wig. (Hedwig)

My other idea: Dress in black. Look concerned. You'd be Serious Black. (Sirius Black)

Yeah, you're right. Cate and Josh are funnier than me.

Anyone else have any good ideas?

Favorite holiday books

Thanks to everyone who told me about their favorite Halloween books. It brought back some great memories and inspired me to seek out new books.

Now I'm curious to hear more holiday favorites. What books did you read as a child, or have you recently discovered that are terrific for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas?

There are lots and lots of lists of holiday favorites in books, articles and library catalogs but I love to hear personal recommendations from people who have really fallen in love with a book.

I know, I know, it's WAY too early to think about all these holidays, but I'm a bookseller and I have to plan ahead. Any mention of your favorite books would be hugely appreciated.

Halloween Books

Do you have a favorite picture book about Halloween? There's a post up at Parent Hacks on this subject. Be sure to check the comments section of the post to see all the suggestions.

As a side note, if you're a parent, I highly recommend reading the Parent Hacks blog. It contains some of the most helpful and practical tips I've ever seen. It's a fantastic resource.

And if you have a favorite Halloween book (whether you're a parent or not), I'd love to hear what it is.