Book Week! Another excuse to share the wonder of reading with our children (as if we needed one). Victor Hugo, the author of ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, wrote;
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark”
And what better way to ignite the love of reading than to explore exciting characters from books that range from recently published to hundreds of years old. One of the great joys of book week with our kids! And when your mum has a talent with the sewing machine: hand made, custom patterned and imagination heavy costumes like these are born…
Ms Frizzle | The Magic School Bus
Creator Jessica’s kids love the magic school bus. So when daughter Willow requested a Ms Frizzle costume, complete with solar system head piece and Liz the lizard, Jessica says, “I knew I’d have my work cut out for me!”. You can find her on Instagram here as GeekMama85
Astrid | How to train your dragon
Riley’s Mum, Skyla, says “As soon as she found out (book week) involved a dress up day, nothing else mattered besides being a dragon trainer! My little one lives in her own fantasy land with her best friend where they spend their time saving and raising dragons and stopping people hunting them.” The hand made costume cost a total of just under $32, made of materials from Spotlight and Textile Traders.
Peeta Mellark | The Hunger Games
Connor, 9, with “two much older brother’s and a maturity level beyond his years” started on the Hunger Games series this year and was “quite taken with the character of Peeta Mellark.” Mum, Andrea, says “I love making costumes for my boys” and has plenty more works to be seen on Facebook here as ‘The Design, The Stitch and The Wardrobe’
Anne | Anne of Green Gables
Mum Kristie was finally able to convince daughter Tara, 11, to go to book week as Anne of Green Gables this year. “Sewn over two days, using fabric I already had and a ‘take a guess and cut it’ methodology… No pattern!” Complete with decorative stitches and vintage lace on the apron. You can see more of Kristie’s work on Facebook page Hespera’s Garden here, where she shares her personal blog.
Mash up! | Alice in Wonderland
Abi’s costume is “a mash-up of the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland” says Mum Anita. The costume includes a hand made dress and apron plus a collar and top hat fascinator created with cards!
Merida | Brave
Moaning Myrtle and Belle | Harry Potter / Beauty and the Beast
Alice | Alice in Wonderland
Lauren only realised on Sunday night that Kiara’s book week dress up day was on Thursday. “Kiara pulled her Alice in Wonderland book from our bookcase and we knew it would be perfect with her blonde hair and blue eyes” she says. After searching 5 stores before finally locating white stockings, she then “sewed like crazy while my son napped”. They both say they can’t wait until next year’s book week.
Queen Lucy | The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Mum, Kristy, modified the “tadah tea party dress” and then created the cape pattern from scratch, both are fully lined (no easy sewing feat). She added detail of bead and lace at the neckline and added fullness in the skirt for extra “twirly”-ness. Very regal indeed!
Madeline and Anne | Madeline / Anne of Green Gables
Mum Emily says “naturally the girls wanted to be fairies and mermaids but with four kids and four costumes to prepare I showed them Madeline and Anne. They were more than excited to be those characters, mainly because their hair was the same colour”. With all her patterns being shipped to Adelaide Emily had to make up the designs as she went. Hooray for the choice of so many strong redhead characters!
Who did your children choose for their Book Week muse this year?
Happy planning for 2018!
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