Book Review: Puppet Play

If you love creative, kid-friendly projects that use everyday objects then you will love Puppet Play by Diana Schoenbrun.  Diana teaches puppetry and creative writing workshops along with authoring two books.  Her first book,Beasties, is all about making adorable stuffed monsters.  Puppet Play is her latest book and I was very pleased to receive an electronic copy to review.

This book was so much fun to browse through.  The pictures are colorful and eye-catching- and the puppets are so cute!  A frog made from an old bandanna, a convertible mitten kangaroo, and a superhero monkey are just a few of the 20 projects detailed.  Each puppet is made from recycled or saved materials, making them fast, easy, and fun!  You can easily substitute different items in the projects.

The book begins with an introduction to building puppets, along with some ideas of objects you can gather and save for your creations.  Each puppet design includes thorough instructions, inspiration photos, and templates that can be easily copied at home.  The puppets are easy to construct, using glue or basic sewing skills.

My daughters (ages 10 & 6) were inspired to spend an entire afternoon building puppets of their own.  The sewing instructions given in the book were simple enough for my oldest to understand.  My younger daughter used craft glue to construct her puppet.  In the very back of the book there are instructions for making a puppet theater and ideas for creating characters and scripts.  The girls used our dining table and some blankets to play with their puppets.

When I read through Puppet Play I was instantly reminded of the Klutz books I used to receive as a child.  They contained supplies and instructions for a variety of crafts and hobbies.  The book Puppet Play would make a great gift for a young puppeteer along with some felt and recycled material for puppet fodder.

Each of the puppets detailed in the book would make fantastic toys for young children who love to play pretend.  Puppets are great fun, and this book gives their creation a new and useful twist.  Lonely socks and mittens now have a place in the craft world.