The Muppets Make Puppets: How to Create and Operate Over 35 Great Puppets Using Stuff from Around Your House [Paperback]

Cheryl Henson (Author), Muppet Workshop (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Cheryl Henson, daughter of Muppets founder Jim Henson, along with the Muppet' Workshop (and Kermit the Frog), shows kids how to make over 35 puppets using stuff from around the house-with a little help from the googly eyes, funny noses, feathers, and fuzzy fur included.There's Dixie Dragon (principle ingredient, a sock), Jughead (small plastic jar), Spidey Jones (old work glove), Metalmouth (bandage boxes), Princess Esterrilla (wooden spoon and chopsticks), and Pinky Roach (pink eraser). In addition, the authors show how to talk the puppet talk and walk the puppet walk, how to write a script and put on a show. It's a complete kit. Just add glue, and a little imagination.Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club.152,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Now you can make puppets right at home out of materials from around your house-an old work glove, empty paper-towel tubes, that meatballer in the kitchen drawer no one ever uses. With the enclosed feathers and fur to get started, it's easy to create a whole cast of sweet, scary, weird characters. Discover the secrets of eyes, become a hair expert, develop the right nose-or beak-for a face. Then learn how to walk the puppet walk and talk the puppet talk.

With tips on scripts, stages, and shows, it's a complete puppeteering guide. Just add your imagination.

About the Author

Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson--creator of the Muppets--is a vice president of Jim Henson Productions. She is an ardent advocate of puppetry and is executive producer of the International Festival of Puppet Theater.

The Muppet Workshop is the magical place where original Muppet characters are created by a staff of talented designers and builders. The Workshop has created hundreds of Muppet puppets over the last 30 years.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 11, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563057085
• ISBN-13: 978-1563057083
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a puppet making manual, December 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Muppets Make Puppets: How to Create and Operate Over 35 Great Puppets Using Stuff from Around Your House (Paperback)

This book is entertaining and well written, both for adults and children. Contains some great tips on how to make eyes, noses, hair etc. for puppets and how to animate the finished products. However, if you are looking for a book on how to make muppet-style puppets or stuffed animal style puppets, this is not the one. Most of the puppets described in the book are 'wooden spoon' or sock puppets - cute, nice for kid's projects but not professional looking. To its credit, this book does contain lots of ideas and insights which could make it a good accompanying book to some other more definitive puppet making book.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A veritable font of wisdom on the fun of puppet building., April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Muppets Make Puppets: How to Create and Operate Over 35 Great Puppets Using Stuff from Around Your House (Paperback)

As an adult who was having a tough time finding anything on puppet construction, I bought this book. But it provided not only the basics for a still perfectly functiong hand and rod moveable mouth puppet, but it continues to delight the children who are introduced to it. The book focuses on easily obtainable supplies around the house and unleashes inumerable hours of laughter and creativity. So many possibilities exist, every child could make a different puppet from this book over the English speaking audience. A book for children, it is exceptionally well tailored to be as sophisticated and unaffected as children are, and yet it continues to fascinate, motivate and inspire this middle aged degreed Artist to make puppets from the basics learned in this book. It is a Treasure I will never throw away. Amazing that someone could cut through the red tape, get to the point so effortlessly and so appealingly. Like the muppets, whose building inspired the book, there is something here for everyone. From the hand puppets, to revealing insights on the Muppeteers themselves, this book is perfectly illustrated and pleasing and easy to the eye. A must read, and the perfect Craft and puppet making book for all ages and all times.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous ideas, July 31, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Muppets Make Puppets: How to Create and Operate Over 35 Great Puppets Using Stuff from Around Your House (Paperback)

This book has so many great ideas using many easy to find objects. It even includes a little packet with 2 pairs of eyes, some faux fur, a few feathers and other sundries. The day this book arrived, my daughter and I made 3 puppets. In the next several days we made many more out of socks, oven mitts and other things that were just laying around the house. If you hate to throw things away, you'll love this. After reading the book, you'll start looking at your trash with new eyes. Old paper towel rolls, band-aid tins, fabric scraps, plastic spoons, small plastic bottles you might throw out, sponges, pot scrubbers, erasers--all these things can be transformed into puppets.

My only quibble is that the suggested reading level is ages 4-8. My nearly five-year-old can't do these projects alone, (I also use a hot glue gun, so it's too hot for her) so I've ended up letting her direct what goes where on the puppets. I think a six year-old working with less dangerous adhesives could do many of the projects himself, and I think kids even older than the age range would find the projects fun, especially if they have little siblings or an opportunity to teach younger kids. (Like helping out at Sunday school).

The book is full of projects that are easy to do right away, don't cost much money or require special trips to the craft store and let your child develop her imagination/creativity/emotional skills.