A name, a face and a temperament
A Living Puppets hand puppet rarely arrives as just a donkey or a hedgehog. It arrives as Fridulin the donkey, Mr Woodruff the hedgehog or Eberhardt Flatsch the giraffe. One look at the face tells you whether a character is cheeky, sly or good-natured. Whether Fridulin sounds grumpy or cheerful is up to you. The brand started out with six animal hand puppets and has added new characters twice a year ever since. Living Puppets says its products meet the EN 71 toy safety standard and are also checked by an independent testing laboratory.
People in three sizes
The human characters come in large, small and mini. Nearly all of the large and small ones also have a hand and a tongue you can work. They can wave, scratch their heads or stick their tongues out. Adults and children can both use them, at home, with a group or in a puppet show. The mini people are made for children's hands.
The separate outfits Living Puppets makes fit only characters that can be undressed completely. The outfits include pyjamas, a tracksuit, trainers, a doctor's coat, a chef's outfit and sets for firefighters and the police. Monday's doctor turns into Tuesday's firefighter, so a role play about jobs or bedtime needs no extra hand puppet. Check the "Clothing/accessories for" filter to find the matching size.
Animals, monsters and odd characters
People suit everyday scenes, animals bring their own temperament to a story, and monsters supply the cheek.
- Animals: for example Böhnchen the seal, Kolman the tomcat and Rolf the frog. Birds such as Heiko the eagle, Erwin the penguin and Django the vulture speak with their beaks.
- The Monster to go! gang: monsters with names such as Schmackes, Bonsche or Bammel, who are allowed to butt in whenever they like.
- Exotic hand puppets: characters that get a group laughing, such as Alter Sack or Hannelore the flowerpot. Alter Sack is German for "old sack", and he is a patched-up one, full of unsolicited advice.
- Chatterworms: sock hand puppets that even beginners get the hang of at once, many of them with a tongue that moves.
- Cushion hand puppets: a soft cushion and a hand puppet with a movable mouth rolled into one.
Familiar faces from television
Children around the world know Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. Wiwaldi and the Whiner come from the Wiwaldi Show, the first German late-night puppet show. Woozle Goozle and Woonie, a young relative of his, appear in a German children's science programme named after him.
Hand puppets for adults and for children
Many Living Puppets hand puppets are handled by adults: nursery staff at circle time, puppeteers on stage, speech and language therapists and activity staff in elderly care. For children who want to work the characters themselves, the mini people, the Chatterworms and the monsters are a good place to start.
In play therapy, the therapist usually works the hand puppet. It asks questions, acts brave one moment and frightened the next, and the child answers it. With a human character, you can rehearse a visit to the doctor or the first day at school.
Finding the right character
For a nursery, a large human character with a hand you can work is worth having: it can shake a child's hand or scratch its own head in puzzlement. Buying for a whole group of children? Many of the Monster to go! characters cost far less than a large human figure. The Playability filter shows which hand puppets let you move the hands or the tongue. Nurseries, schools and care homes can pay by invoice once their customer account has been approved following a credit check.
How Living Puppets compares with other brands
Living Puppets makes hand puppets with characterful faces and a good dose of humour, most of them with a movable mouth. For animals that look as close as possible to the real species, turn to Folkmanis and Hansa Creation. For smaller budgets, The Puppet Company makes baby hand puppets, the Puppet Buddies and sock monsters.