101 Hand Puppets: A Beginner's Guide to Puppeteering

by Richard Cummings

This entertaining how-to book, with its simple, step-by-step instructions, makes it easy to create every kind of puppet imaginable — from such handkerchief varieties as Spook-a-boo the Ghost (made with a simple twist of the wrist) for beginners and Flak J. Frog for performers at the intermediate level, to such special figures as a Box of Demons for advanced puppeteers who want to expand their cast of characters.
A host of charming little personalities lead the way, among them such "instant" puppets as Bagdad, the paper bag gremlin; the Matchbox Monster, Spoonerella, and Carrie Carrot; "rainy day" puppets that include Robert Robot, Little Miss Muffet, Perky Pup, and Gordo the Wizard; professional puppets such as Pat the Policeman, Bird McDermitt, Klondike Kitty, Honk Kong, the Ape; and dozens of other delightful figures.
Scripts for three plays as well as simple designs for stages and props are included, allowing performers of all ages to put on their own shows and have fun bringing their creations to life.

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2002

Reviews

[Sayna Parsi]

The first half of the book is instructions to make puppets with increasing level of complexity. Starts from things you can draw on your hand, goes to sock puppets, and to puppets with human faces.
The second half of the book has scripts that you can follow for a home-theater puppet show.

[Charlie Easterson]

A decent overview of puppeteering and (mostly) puppet crafting, but mostly focuses on soft hand puppets or paper mache "Punch and Judy" style puppets and marionettes. Also provides some simple scripts for first-time puppeteers.

[Ed]

The library in my elementary/middle school had this book (with a different cover,) and I read it over and over and over again! I LOVE this book!