From the farmyard to fairy tales
- On the farm: Lucy the sheep, Stulle the pig, Gundula the goose, and Heini the cockerel with Herta the hen, a married couple according to the maker.
- Around the house and garden: Lulu the dog, Schnurzpiepe the mouse and Soeren the hedgehog.
- Woods and fields: Rasputin the wolf, Mr Fox and Eulalie the owl.
- Near the water: Törtchen the seahorse, Travis the crocodile and Rolf the frog.
- Faraway places: Carl the lion, Kalle the camel and Wilhelminchen the chameleon.
- Creepy-crawlies: Anton the ant, Hubi the ladybird, Doris the bee and Reni the giant caterpillar.
- Myth and legend: the dragons Filippo and Elsa, and the unicorns Elke and Hörnchen.
More than talking
Heini and Herta can flap their wings, and the black-and-white cat and the brown cat pad along on all four paws. Wilhelminchen the chameleon flicks out her tongue to catch flies. Gregor and Ottilie are dragons who have only just hatched, and they keep vanishing back into their eggs. If your story is about hatching, those two are already cast. Reni the giant caterpillar chats at the front and wiggles at the back, because you can work both ends.
Grand characters and small versions
Sir Theo von Gockel is a stately cockerel who looks impressive even on an adult's hand. Baroness Bargain of Smuggling, a bird who is patron of a club for retired bargain hunters, is just as grand. Sammy the turtle and Rolf the frog each come in a large and a small version, and small Sammy is sized for children's hands.
An animal that joins the group
An animal with a name soon becomes part of the group. Schwups the mole can give the nursery group clues about what he dug up today, and the children try to guess. Soeren the hedgehog can explain to a primary science class where he spends the winter. Take Eulalie along on a night walk and let her list everything she can hear in the dark, while Rasputin howls in the background. Rolf the frog opens his big mouth wide in speech and language therapy, and the child copies him. In elderly care, a cat hand puppet on a resident's lap is a familiar way to start a conversation.
How to choose
Start with an animal whose name and story suit your themes. For talking, a movable mouth or a beak is all it takes. If you want the animal to flap its wings as well, the Playability filter shows which ones can. A story that needs somewhere to hide works with Sammy, who can pull back into her shell, as well as with the dragons in their eggs. With Jörg the coyote and Mr Fox, you have two voices for a quarrel over who is in charge of the forest.