Students line up to be judged in the courtyard on Literary Character Day. The large turnout was evidence of the event’s growing popularity.
When administrators were told that students could not dress up for Halloween, the event became a school tradition. The district agreed since it promotes reading. “In the first few years there might have been ten or fifteen and then it grew into the 20s and 30s, and now there really are a lot of students who participate,” said English teacher Patricia Magee.
A wide range of characters showed up, from young adult novels to adult novels. Some costumes were homemade, from the three blind mice to a gypsy. Others were store bought or rented, such as the student who dressed as a penguin. The novel associated with this costume is unknown.
“We ask the administration to judge and they choose the best costume,” said media specialist Patricia Franklin, “and it also has to go with the book.”
Judging was based on how well participants related to the book and the costume’s originality. According to both Franklin and Magee, homemade costumes are also more likely to win since they show that the student put effort into their costume.
Senior Katherine Moran won second place in the contest with her Dorothy costume, based on the original version of the book, The Wizard of Oz.
“The dress was my mom’s in high school and according to the book, Dorothy’s shoes were silver,” said Moran. “After that it was just about the hair, makeup and props.”
The first place prizes went to sophomore Kendyll Sumler for her interpretation of Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Among these prizes was a copy of the school yearbook and tickets to the Orlando Science Center.