Have a Mixed-Up Middle Grade Halloween!

Hopefully you caught Jonathan Rosen’s suggestions for Halloween reads. And now that you’re in a suitably spooky mood, get ready for the big night itself with a midgrade-inspired costume.  Here are a few ideas to bring good books to life.

Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren

Astrid Lindgren’s quirky strong-girl is a good antidote to the annual glut of superhero costumes, as she could totally take Spiderman in an arm-wrestling match. The most important thing being about Pippi is getting the socks right, I mean wrong, I mean mismatched. Otherwise folks will be calling you Wendy and trying to order hamburgers from you.

Harry Potter from the series by J.K. Rowling

Expecto Patronum! What could be easier than a drawn-on scar, some round-rimmed glasses, a magic wand, and a Gryffindor scarf? Put them together and bang, your a wizard, Harry!

Frodo Baggins from “The Lord of the Rings” series by J.R.R. Tolkein

Not a costume for trick-or-treating in, unless your hairy bare hobbit feet are exceptionally sturdy, but a definite standout at an indoor party. Ring-Pops may be fine for the dwarves, elves, and humans, but Frodo has one to rule them all, and in darkness bind them.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

May the tricks and treats be ever in your favor! As an added bonus, the hungrier you look, the more candy you will receive.

Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

This one is big. Or small. Or both.

An Oompa-Loompa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

The green-haired kid in white coveralls is very cute, and the dad’s got a wild-eyed look appropriate to Willy Wonka, but wow–it takes a lot of daring to dress as a giant chocolate bar on Halloween night.

Whatever costume you or your little readers wear, stay safe out there!

Have any other literary costume plans or ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Greg R. Fishbone

Mythoversal

Greg R. Fishbone is the founder of Mythoversal, a project dedicated to restoring inclusion, diversity, and equity to classical texts, and Cryptoversal Books, a launchpad for experiments in sustainable Web3 publishing. His latest work is the Wordler Village series of innovative story tokens. Greg lives in New England with his wife, two young readers, and a pair of stubbornly illiterate cats.