35 Best Literary Halloween Costumes for Teachers and Librarians Clutch Fire

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Individual Literary Halloween Costumes for Teachers Group Literary Halloween Costumes for Teachers

If there’s any way to get a teacher excited about Halloween, it’s to gather inspiration from some of the best literary Halloween costumes out there. Whether you’re a dedicated English teacher or just a self-proclaimed “word nerd,” we bet there’s something here to get your creative juices flowing and get you psyched about the impending arrival of one of our favorite holidays—and maybe even educate your students at the same time!

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Individual Literary Halloween Costumes for Teachers

Teacher dressed as a Diction-Fairy, with wings covered in book pages — Courtesy of Danielle F.

1. Diction-fairy

Who doesn’t love a good costume pun? Pick up an old dictionary at the thrift store, then use its pages to cover a set of wings. Ta-da!

Get the look: Fairy Wings on Amazon

Teacher dressed in a homemade book costume for Halloween — Courtesy of Lupe Palacios

2. A Book

The teacher who crafted this clever costume notes that it opened up to a short story inside, while the back showcased “reviews” from students. So cool!

Teacher dressed as Mo Willem's pigeon, with a sign saying Let me drive the bus! — Courtesy of Amy B., PreK-6 Librarian

3. Mo Willems’ Pigeon

Dressing like this beloved mischievous bird is easy with a clever knit cap. Attach the sign to a yardstick and stick it in your back pocket, and you’ll have a “caption” all day long!

Get the look: Pigeon Knit Cap on Etsy

Teacher dressed as the Very Hungry Caterpillar for Halloween — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Want to make this costume even funnier? Spend the day constantly eating some of the items from the book!

Get the look: Green Tutu on Amazon

Teacher wearing a green ribbon bow around her neck — Courtesy of Jen E., Middle School ELA Teacher

5. The Girl With the Green Ribbon

Remember that creepy tale from Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark? She’d never take off her ribbon and never tell anyone why …

Teacher wearing a green dress with vines wrapped around it to be Poison Ivy for Halloween — Courtesy of Daletta G.

6. Poison Ivy

It’s easy to find artificial ivy strings. Just dress in green, wrap yourself in vines, and you’ve transformed into the classic comic book character!

Get the look: Artificial Ivy on Amazon

Teacher wearing a plush donut costume — Courtesy of J. Douglas, 4th Grade Teacher

7. Arnie the Doughnut

If your students know Arnie (of graphic novel fame), they’ll snicker when you show up in this cute and super-easy book-inspired Halloween costume.

Get the look: Donut Costume on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

This idea comes together in a snap with a pair of overalls and some mouse ears. Use cardboard to make a big cookie, and you’re good to go!

Get the look: Overalls and Mouse Ears on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's — Courtesy of Heather Q., 8th Grade Teacher

9. Holly Golightly

Channel your inner Audrey Hepburn for this costume based on the movie version of Capote’s classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Librarian dressed as Pete the Cat, holding a stuffed Pete and a copy of a Pete the Cat book — Courtesy of Amy B., PreK-6 Librarian

10. Pete the Cat

Add big colorful buttons to a yellow shirt, add some cat ears, and you’ve got a Pete the Cat costume! If you can do the different-colored sneakers, even better.

Get the look: Colorful Plastic Buttons on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the main character from the book A Bad Case of the Stripes — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

11. A Bad Case of Stripes

Kids will adore this super-colorful costume. If you don’t want to paint your arms and legs with face paint, you can buy striped clothes instead.

Get the look: Striped Leggings and a Striped Long-Sleeve Shirt on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Fly Guy and holding the picture book — Courtesy of of Sarah A., 2nd Grade Teacher

12. Fly Guy

Those fly eyes made from paper plates are totally cute and easy enough for any teacher to make. You can also make your own wings, or buy a pair to make the costume even easier.

Get the look: Bug Wings on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Phileas Fogg in a hot air balloon costume for Halloween — Courtesy of Lisa Jacobs

13. Phileas Fogg

If you really love putting effort into your costumes, take inspiration from this incredible Around the World in 80 Days costume! A giant beach ball balanced in a Hula-Hoop forms the “balloon,” and a pair of steampunk goggles adds an authentic touch.

Get the look: Beach Ball and Steampunk Goggles on Amazon

Teacher dressed as Super Reader, wearing a cape made of material that looks like book pages — Courtesy of Amy, PreK-6 Librarian

14. Super Reader

Readers are the real superheroes! Make a cape from old book pages, or buy some book-printed fabric instead.

Teacher dressed as the main character from the book Pinkalicious — Courtesy of Brooke Reynolds

15. Pinkalicious

Is it possible to like the color pink too much? Nah, of course not!

Get the look: Pink Boa and Tutu on Amazon

Teacher dressed as the character Ms. Frizzle for Halloween — Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher

16. Ms. Frizzle

This is one of those teacher Halloween costumes that’s become a perennial favorite. Don’t forget to attach a lizard friend to your shoulder!

Get the look: Planets Dress and Stuffed Lizard on Amazon

Teacher dressed as a stereotypical grumpy old librarian for Halloween — Courtesy of Morgan M., 4th Grade Teacher

17. Grumpy Librarian

Today’s librarians are nothing like the stern, grumpy book guardians of days gone by. That makes it fun to dress as one of them for a day!

Get the look: Reading Glasses and Glasses Chain on Amazon

Teachers dressed in striped shirts in hats as Where's Waldo? — Courtesy of Brianna Sayegh

18. Where’s Waldo?

This one works as a solo costume or one for you and your teacher BFF. Wear your own striped shirt, or buy a costume instead.

Get the look: Waldo Costume on Amazon

Group Literary Halloween Costumes for Teachers

Group of teachers dressed in police uniforms as the Grammar Police — Courtesy of Katarina Lupson

19. Grammar Police

Stop in the name of the Oxford comma! Don’t try to get away with any double negatives either.

Teachers dressed as characters from The Magic Schoolbus — Courtesy of Gabriella S.

20. The Magic School Bus

Where would Ms. Frizzle be without the rest of the gang? Extra points if you can convince someone to dress up as the bus itself.

Group of teachers dressed as book character Junie B. Jones from different books — Courtesy of Gabriella S.

21. Junie B. Jones

This childhood favorite has been through dozens of adventures and looks a little different each time. That makes this a fantastic group costume, with each teacher dressing as their own version of Junie.

Teachers dressed as Party Animals for Halloween — Courtesy of Kaitlyn H., Kindergarten, ESL Teacher

22. Party Animals

Mix animal costumes with birthday hats and noisemakers, and you’ve got the whole cast of characters from Tara Lazar’s adorable book!

Teachers wearing colorful tutus and t-shirts to represent One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish — Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher

23. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

The colorful tutus are fun, but it’s those headbands that really make this teacher team costume pop!

Teacher duo dressed as The Lorax and Sneed — Courtesy of Amy, PreK-6 Librarian

24. The Lorax and a Thneed

Spread an environmental message with your teacher Halloween costume. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Get the look: Mustache and Eyebrows on Amazon

Teachers dressed as characters from Frog and Toad are Friends — Courtesy of Melanie Nielsen

25. Frog and Toad

This is an amazing costume idea for two teacher besties. They’re friends forever, just like Frog and Toad!

Teachers and school staff dressed as farm animals and other characters from Charlotte's Web — Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher

26. Charlotte’s Web

Want something the entire school can get in on? Try the farm animals and other characters from Charlotte’s Web!

A group of teachers dressed as characters from Laura Numeroff books — Courtesy of Stephanie Gable

27. Laura Numeroff Characters

If you give a teacher a Laura Numeroff book, they’ll turn it into a Halloween costume! Each teacher can pick their own favorite.

Group of teachers dressed to represent the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom — Courtesy of Hilary Statum

28. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

How cute is this idea? Brown overalls covered in letters of the alphabet topped with palm leaves and coconuts make an easy costume that works for groups or individuals.

Get the look: Brown Overalls on Amazon

Teachers dressed as Winnie the Pooh characters for Halloween — Courtesy of Brooke B., 4th Grade Teacher

29. Winnie-the-Pooh

You can go all out with Pooh-themed costumes, but you don’t need to. These simple T-shirts and headbands get the idea across perfectly and are much more practical.

Get the look: Winnie-the-Pooh Headbands on Amazon

Teachers dressed as characters from the book The Bad Seed — Courtesy of Willa Barron

30. The Bad Seed

Pick up some big sheets of poster board and create your own costumes for the characters from the popular picture book series. These kids made their teacher dress up as the Bad Seed!