It is quite possible that there is nothing more fabulous than Book Week. Honestly, it might be the reason I stay in teaching as long as I do. What a great celebration of all things I love!
This year, Rachel wanted to be a Ranger. She has been very invested in the John Flanagan Ranger's Apprentice books, as well as the two spin off series and Brotherband. We had a discussion on the essential cape and I found three different green fabrics in my stash. Rachel opted for the olive-green bedsheet.
Initially unimpressed with the hooded cape I whipped up one afternoon (she didn't like the excess fabric in the hood, but I couldn't be bothered make a fitted one for a costume), Rachel came round to it after some street friends told her how cool it looked. I knew she had a green shirt, so I figured with some jeans we were actually done. Little did I know.
Rachel was intent on a pretty thorougher recreation. She scoured the park across the road for the perfect stick to become her long bow for weeks. Then raided the shed for bamboo stakes and long dowels to turn into arrows. Her bow was strung with some leather which I think was supposed to be used for making bracelets. Arrows were fletched with feathers she had collected over the years. There was also the oak leaf necklace, the throwing knives and daggers. Weighted, of course. I dug out the brown belt from the Jedi Costume along with a couple of the belt pouches. Rachel filled these with her "medical supplies" and other assorted things.
After seeing her work hard at all the parts of her costume (the only thing missing was an arm brace really), when she requested some brown pants to wear, I felt I couldn't refuse. I fortuitously had some brown fabric in my stash thanks to the roller coaster journey of the Princess Bride Costumes of 2025. So I measured her jeans and sat down on Sunday to make a pair of ranger pants for the Book Week Parade the next day.
Things were going smoothly (and beautifully), until I realised I had accidentally sewn the front legs together and the back legs together, rather than to each other. There might have been a loud exclamation from the otherwise quiet sewing area before I decided the solution was to cut off the French seams and go again, this time with less beauty, more speed and the correct pieces of fabric.
Rachel was happy with the comfy brown pants that included four pockets for her to stash even more Ranger things in. She borrowed Sophie's satchel bag to take her lunch in, and also Sophie's brown boots, even though they were too big for her. Rachel is committed like you read about.
The quiver for the arrows was made the night before, and then I was informed the cape needed a slit in the back for the arrows to poke through. I may have organised that the morning of, but it was a very quick snip and sew. Rachel did win the prize for best dressed in her class.
Gosh did she look fabulous. She was so chuffed with her costume and the imaginative play options ahead of her. The home made bow and arrows can, in fact, be fired, but she was only allowed to take them to school under strict instructions not to use them. One of the grade 6 teachers completing disregarded this though when the throwing knives (cardboard) were accidentally stuck in a tree and Rachel was asked to shoot them down with her bow.
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