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Puppet Play: 20 Puppet Projects Made with Recycled Mittens, Towels, Socks, and More

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Features 20 puppets parents and kids can make together out of recycled mittens, Towels, socks, and household linens. The author’s previous book of puppets sold more than 100,000 copies.

Have fun and go green with Diana Schoenbrun's Puppet 20 Puppet Projects Made with Recycled Mittens, Towels, Socks, and More . A puppet builder, an illustrator, and an author, Schoenbrun presents 20 puppet projects made with recycled materials easily found around the house.

A lonely sock becomes a wizard puppet. A glove without a mate turns into five little pig puppets. And that tired dishtowel transforms into a lively banjo player puppet--all at very little cost. Diana Schoenbrun's easy-to-follow directions are accompanied by how-to illustrations. Also included are full-color photographs of puppets, as well as a chapter that guides children through creating and presenting their own puppet show. So, the next time the dryer eats a single sock, get crafty, go green, and go play with Puppet Play .

168 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2011

1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read

About the author

Diana Schoenbrun

8 books1 follower
Diana Schoenbrun teaches puppet and playwriting workshops for children ages 6 to 9 at 826NYC, a nonprofit center founded by Dave Eggers. She currently works at Puppet Heap, a unique design studio located in Hoboken, New Jersey. Diana resides in Brooklyn, New York."

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Dee.
1,501 reviews173 followers
September 6, 2011
5+ Stars

What a fabulous book!

I work with children all the time and over the years have collected a few books on art & craft making and general activities for the children and have to say this is probably one of the best I have come across.

When most people think of making a puppet they just think of a sock with 2 eyes, nose & mouth but this book gives you loads of wonderful ideas and shows you how to make lots of different puppets including clowns, dragons, elephants & monkeys.

What I also like about this book is that the instructions are clear and precise with pictures and templates which means that quite complicated creations become easy and fun to make. I know that the children will be excited and love this book too and I am looking forward to making lots of different puppets with them.
Profile Image for Andrew.
2,332 reviews71 followers
October 17, 2018
Despite the puppets being made by typical supplies you'll have around your house, YAY, many of these projects are not able to be done by kids, the catered audience. Almost every single puppet featured requires a lot of adult assistance, even the sock puppets...
Profile Image for Meg Mirza.
495 reviews32 followers
January 16, 2012
This delightful offering is an inspiration for crafters everywhere. Written in the most basic terms, the book begins with a simple intro to kinds of materials to look out for, easy-to-read diagrams showing different kinds of hand-stitching, and a few pattern suggestions. While a few of these creations looked a little "unfinished" to me, there were plenty of puppets that struck my fancy. I was especially impressed with the floppy, wrinkly, beautifully long-trunked elephant puppet, fashioned out of a mismatching pair of grey striped socks. I also liked the looks of the sock monkey super-hero puppet (not your typical sock monkey!) and the inspired choice of an old argyle sock as the body for a wacky looking wizard. The green bandanna frog was cleverly made, although not quite my style, and the two-sided fish, made out of mismatching washclothes begs to have a song or rhyme written about him for storytime. The kangaroo puppet, fashioned from a re-purposed glove and the giraffe puppet made of tea-towels and clothespins both looked a bit daunting, but there were plenty of projects here eminently suitable for a beginner.

Many of these puppets were so clearly inspired by the found materials they were made from - for instance, where on earth would you find a lumpy, striped grey sock that is nearly as good as the one used in the book for this elephant? It seemed to me the best sock puppets came from unusual socks - large, old, colorful, fantastically-patterned knee socks seem to be a safe bet for really terrific puppet characters. Use this book as a jumping off point for your own puppetry creations. Dedicated crafters with a hearty supply of buttons, fabric scraps and notions will doubtless find these projects easy, but even a novice puppeteer could get started with a trip to their mismatched socks basket, a few sheets of cheap felt, and maybe a trip to a secondhand clothing store for a few extras.

The book is appended with some puppeteering tips, character creation ideas, and a list of websites of prominent puppetry arts organizations.
Profile Image for Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com.
2,219 reviews93 followers
April 21, 2011
Puppet Play by Diane Schoenbrun
I am inspired to create after reading PUPPET PLAY. I have no skills when it comes to sewing but I am convinced that PUPPET PLAY can turn me into a creative sewer in no time. The easy to follow directions, along with the colorful pictures will make creating a puppet pal a snap! I love to do projects with my kids and create projects for my classroom but seem to run out of new and exciting ideas. PUPPET PLAY is filled with great ideas that both my kids and my students will love. There is nothing better than reading a book and finishing feeling inspired. I cannot wait to find a holey sock, sad glove or leg warmer and turn it into a puppet pal! I have a feeling you will feel the same way. PUPPET PLAY will bring you together with your kids and help you use some of that unused stuff you have around your house. I highly recommend this book to parents and teachers alike.

Book Description
Have fun and go green with Diana Schoenbrun's Puppet Play: 20 Puppet Projects Made with Recycled Mittens, Towels, Socks, and More. A puppet builder, an illustrator, and an author, Schoenbrun presents 20 puppet projects made with recycled materials easily found around the house.
A lonely sock becomes a wizard puppet. A glove without a mate turns into five little pig puppets. And that tired dishtowel transforms into a lively banjo player puppet--all at very little cost. Diana Schoenbrun's easy-to-follow directions are accompanied by how-to illustrations. Also included are full-color photographs of puppets, as well as a chapter that guides children through creating and presenting their own puppet show. So, the next time the dryer eats a single sock, get crafty, go green, and go play with Puppet Play.

*read through Net Galley

Profile Image for Danelle   Our-Wolves-Den.
156 reviews29 followers
May 3, 2014

My View




I loved this book and can't wait to show my children. I know they will love creaing these puppets. I never thought about using holey socks or what to do with those socks that mysteriously go into the washer as a pair and come out single (where do those things go??). But now I don't have to toss them out or use them as dust rags.

And that is just one of her ideas. This book has great ideas for recycling many different materials. I love the fact that most of these materials I am sure I can find around the house, how nice that I won't be spending tons of money and having to drive to the craft store.

She lists some ideas in the book for materials you can use for puppets. And the patterns you will need for the puppets she is presenting. The book has very easy to follow instructions, which i think is key to any craft book. I like that my kids could get a hold of the book and basically not need much help from me.

One of my favorites that I love and see us doing first is the Five Little Pigs glove puppet. (Again where in the world does that other glove run off to. Is it a conspiracy with the one missing sock, that they take off together??) I love that it can be used and then we can tell a story to the littler ones in the house.

This book inspires you to rethink about how you can use things. Towards the back of the book she lists websites to check out and tips on putting on a puppet play.

I reviewed a ebook copy but as soon as this comes out I am hoping to buy it. This would be a great addition to any library, especially with kids.

Profile Image for Kathryn.
793 reviews19 followers
February 5, 2011
I love this book! Thank you to the publisher for providing me and others at NetGalley a copy. Besides the fact that the book is easy to follow, creative, and concise, the pictures are clear and everything is presented in such a way to encourage creativity and the swapping of materials, especially since the projects are meant for old or used items around the house.

I have two little boys and we do quite a bot of crafty projects. Our current favorites are felt masks. My boys wanted masks more than anything else and I thought felt would be the best route since both of my boys wear glasses. I have had to limit mask play time since the glasses tend to be ripped off of heads or the shapes tweaked with the added pressure, even with felt masks. This book is the perfect solution. I am positive my boys will be interested in the puppets, maybe more than the masks, and I no longer worry about damages to their glasses. I plan on digging through my sock drawer tomorrow. I already have a pair of gloves which we will put to good use.

Highly recommended for families who would rather encourage imaginative play instead of tv time.
Profile Image for Sara.
314 reviews12 followers
April 27, 2011
Puppet Play by Diana Schoenbrun is filled with lots of fun sock puppet projects to make. There are twenty different projects to make with socks or gloves, felt, buttons and other basic supplies. The book comes with patterns and directions for each project.



This is a fun book that comes with lots of beautiful pictures of all the different puppets you can make. The projects are leveled by difficulty and go from one or two that are very easy to projects that would be challenging for an adult.



Appropriateness: Most of the projects are more difficult than a young child could make so I'd recommend it to middle school and up unless you want to do all the work.



Review copy obtained by netgalley
Profile Image for Rosa.
242 reviews
January 15, 2011
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing to me read and review this wonderfully creative book!


Always finding yourself with the dilemma of a holey or missing sock? Well, Puppet Play is a perfectly artistic solution to your problem!


The instructions are easy to follow and read, complete with images of the finished product for comparing. Templates are provided to assist you in the completion of the product and diagrams are also shown when necessary. Materials that are needed are all listed and aren’t difficult to obtain.


The 20 projects are all different in variety and the book is interesting for people of all ages!
Profile Image for Wendy Darling.
2,250 reviews34.2k followers
May 21, 2011
Written by a puppeteer and crafter, this very cute book offers simple DIY puppet projects for beginning crafters using socks, towels, mittens, and other recycled materials. Chock-full of photographs and illustrations, the book offers easy to follow instructions using inexpensive materials for many cheery (and green) projects. Especially great for a rainy day with kids!

Read the author 's guest post on my crafts blog, where she talks about her inspiration behind the book. You'll also find two free patterns to download and try!
Profile Image for Aadel Bussinger.
82 reviews4 followers
December 28, 2011
Fun and imaginative puppets made from recyclable and reusable household items. My girls and I enjoyed browsing the colorful pictures and inspiring lists of ideas. They spent the entire afternoon sewing and gluing their own puppets out of scraps of felt, old socks and mittens, button, and yarn. I plan to make several of the examples in this book for use in preschool groups at our church.
Read my full review: http://naturalfamilytoday.com/uncateg...
Profile Image for Cheryl.
527 reviews8 followers
August 30, 2011
Puppet Play gives 20 patterns to create puppets by kids or for kids. The puppets are rated easy to difficult though even the easiest patterns require some adult help for younger children. The book features a variety of simple material to use in creating animals, clowns, or people puppets. Included is a short section on puppeteering and writing plays for puppets. Suggested for kids 12 and up with an interest in sewing.
Profile Image for Terryann.
575 reviews9 followers
September 21, 2011
i read this on my nook, so some of the pictures were a little small, but that didn't make them any less cute! a fun book with excellent instructions and very creative ideas. i especially loved the leg warmer turned elephant. what a cutie. there are resources for puppets and puppet play in the back of the book. an excellent book for people with children. what a great way to spend your family time!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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