The Wizard of Oz is one of those stories every Aussie school kid knows — it's been on reading lists, in school libraries and on family screens for generations. When Book Week rolls around in August, a Wizard of Oz costume is one of the safest bets you can make: instantly recognisable at the school parade, suitable for any age, and brilliant for groups of siblings or friends who want...

Pikachu is the costume that gets the loudest cheer at any Aussie school parade, so a Pokémon book week costume is one of the safest bets you can make for a confident kid. And yes, Pokémon counts — Scholastic has published dozens of Pokémon chapter books and readers, plus the long-running Pokémon Adventures manga, so a trainer costume is right at home on a Book Week dress-up day. Whether your...

If you're hunting for a Harry Potter Book Week costume that actually gets the nod from the teacher (and not the dreaded "is that meant to be a witch from a movie?" question), the secret is picking a Hogwarts house first and building the look around it. A black robe on its own reads as "generic wizard." A black robe with a red-and-gold scarf, round glasses and a tiny lightning...