Puppet Mania! [Paperback]

John Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

John Kennedy offers 13 original puppet projects, along with 30 featured puppets. Each project has straightforward instructions, showing how to bring the creations to life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hi. I'm John and I'm excited to bring you this book. In it are a lot of puppets I designed when I was a kid and some I made just for practicing my puppet moves. I hope you can see, through my many examples, how you can make your own characters."

About the Author

John E. Kennedy has worked with the Jim Henson Company for more than 10 years and also worked in the Muppet Revue at Walt Disney World, where he spent time working directly with Jim Henson. Kennedy has taught puppet making to children at museum workshops and has worked on "Sesame Street," "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss," "Muppets from Space" and "Animal Jam." He lives in Orlando, Florida.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581803729
• ISBN-13: 978-1581803723
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Crafts & Hobbies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ready, set, create..., February 19, 2004

By 

Rune reader "runewright" (AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puppet Mania! (Paperback)

I teach puppet making and puppetry to children and have MANY how-to puppet books in my collection. I was immediately attracted to the cover of this book because the puppets on the front were obviously not the usual sock puppets or glove puppets found in many books.

In this book, John Kennedy, who has been working with puppets since he was eight and who has made puppets for use in television and the Muppet Review in Disney World, presents some fun ideas for those intermediate puppet makers who have already had success making simple puppets and want to move on to more technical puppets.

In addition to step-by-step photos, patterns and instructions to make the dozen or so puppets, there are hints on how to manipulate them, create different expressions and change the basic puppet to make a variety of different characters.

The feature I enjoyed most was John's comments throughout describing how he first came to create each type of puppet, many of which he designed when he was a child or young teen.

In several instances he mentioned that the puppet shown had originally started out as something else and had grown into its present form gradually. I feel that it is important that children realize that even "professional" artists and craftsmen go through a developmental process before achieving a finished product.

A fun book, but definitely not for beginning puppet makers or very young children, as the puppets are quite sophisticated and there is extensive use of the hot glue gun.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a good start for begginers, great for elementary classrooms, November 4, 2006

By 

Christopher Faulkenberry (Lilburn, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Puppet Mania! (Paperback)

If you are just into puppet making for fun and not really into the art of making them, this book is for you. The puppets built inside are very basic and developed sot hat anybody can make them. It's a fun book, but personaly I felt it was a little childish and didn't really touch base on some of other techniques. If you are looking to make a more muppet style puppet this book does not cover it. however his second book Puppet Planet is an excelent book that goes into more detail and more profetional style puppet making.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little something for everyone . . ., April 19, 2005

By 

R. R. Rossilli, Jr. (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Puppet Mania! (Paperback)

Although there isn't as much detailed insights in the building of muppet-type hand puppets, as you would hope from a Muppeteer, this book provides you with a lot of excellent ideas and interesting alternative puppet building techniques. I recommend it for the beginner or for the intermediate builder who is looking for a fresh look at the craft.