Book Week 2022 Dreaming With Eyes Open Costume Ideas

Book Week 2022 Dreaming With Eyes Open

A Complete Guide

*Update: Go check out our complete guide for Book Week 2023 ideas!

The Children’s Book Council of Australia has announced their Book Week theme and it’s our favourite one yet!

So, what is the book week theme for 2022 you may ask?

Dreaming with Eyes Open…

Now don’t let this theme scare you, we know you might be asking what on earth can the kids wear for book week? Or what costumes fit the 2022 book week theme? The answer simply put is… Absolutely everything!

If you can dream it, you can be it!!

With that in mind let’s look at some of our favourite picks for book week 2022!

 Australian Animal and Dream Time Costumes

The first stop on our quest to find Book Week costumes for 2022 is the Dreamtime.  The Dreamtime Stories explain how the natural world including all the animals, rocks, waterholes, rivers and even trees and plants were created. The Rainbow Serpent is one of the most well-known of the Dreamtime stories, but did you know that there’s a Dreamtime story for nearly every Australian animal you can think of? Have a look at our list below to see if your favourite Australian animal is on there!

 Classic Storybook Costumes

When you think about storybooks what titles come to mind first? There are so many incredible books that have characters that continue to stand the test of time, and the reason they continue to hold their status at the top of the list is because they are, simply put… classic! Think of authors like Roald Dahl who wrote titles like, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox. Or what about E.B. White’s, Charlottes Web and Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and we can’t forget Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit or the C.S. Lewis masterpiece The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Or everyone’s favourite Dr. Seuss’s, The Cat in the Hat.

 Fairytale Costumes

Next up in our book week costume ideas are the fairy tales!! Now this category includes all the Disney themed costumes and Disney Princesses. But the Disney stories originated from some incredible authors, think names like The Brothers Grimm, who wrote stories like Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and even Cinderella! And of course, we can’t forget Hans Christian Andersen, with The Little Mermaid, J.M. Barrie with Peter Pan or L. Frank Baum with The Wizard or Oz.

Superhero and Villain Costumes 

You didn’t think we’d forget the comic book heroes and villains, did you? You can’t have book week without superheroes and their troublesome counterparts… DC Comics and Marvel Comics rule the roost in this category and for good reason! For DC Comics, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman back in 1938, followed by Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s Batman in 1939, The Joker and Catwoman in 1940 and Two-Face in 1942. Now for Marvel Comics the very first notable inclusion was the first Avenger written by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America in 1941. Next up written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The Hulk, Spiderman, and Thor in 1962. The addition of Don Heck to the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby team lead to Iron Man in 1963. Followed by Black Panther in 1966 and Captain Marvel in 1967.

Harry Potter Character Costumes 

Of course, there’s no book week without the wizarding world! J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997 and The Deathly Hallows in 2007, it took 10 long years of waiting for fans of the franchise to finish one of the greatest stories ever written!  J.K. Rowling also wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2001 and The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018 to keep the magic alive! Now when look at the Wizarding World you have the option of dressing as some of the beloved magical characters but who should you choose? Maybe the sorting hat will do its thing and place you into your house? Are you Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw? Or Slytherin?

Occupation Costumes

The age-old question… What do you want to be when you grow up? This one fits the Dreaming with Eye’s Open theme so well and is completely open to interpretation! There are so many options in this category and we’re going to try our best to cover most of them! We’re starting off with a fireman, and the Rob Lee, Fireman Sam book series! Or maybe a Knight? T.H. White wrote a fabulous story about Camelot and King Arthur called The Sword and The Stone in 1938. And if you dream of being a doctor, why not David Shanon’s, A Bad Case of the Stripes? The options are endless!

Where's Wally? Costumes

You thought we forgot someone didn’t you? We did find it a little difficult to find him, he always hides in obscure places! We couldn’t leave out the one and only Where’s Wally? The beloved Waldo books created by English illustrator Martin Handford we’re first published in 1987 and have become an absolute classic world wide! With all of your favourite characters available, you’re sure to find a Where’s Wally? Look to wear for Book Week!