Backyard puppet fun for children

The magical world of puppets

Puppets are magic. Puppetry tells stories, refines storytelling skills, and amuses and delights the child in all of us. I've always loved puppets. They come in all stripes and colors. There are sock puppets, cloth puppets, wooden head puppets, stringed puppets, hand puppets and even finger puppets.

What is the difference between puppets and marionettes?

Many people don't know the difference between puppets and marionettes. Usually people assume it's the strings or wires and they are right -- and they are wrong. The strings or wires are they because they allow the puppeteer to manipulate the head, arms, hands, legs, and feet of the puppet. The puppeteer can do that because marionettes are jointed or articulated puppets. They are not made the same way as, say, a hand puppet.

The many types of puppets

Puppets are small, large, gangly, and dangley. They are old men, crazy ladies, yellow-haired boys and Rapunzel-like girls. They are butterflies, crabs, horses, and dinosaurs. Everything we have in the real world can be found in the puppet world. Here are a few puppets and books I've recently found for children.

• Image Credit: Nationalmuseet [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

What do you think about puppets? Fun? Useful?