Puppets

2012 Aesop's Owl. Kohl's Cares. ohl's Department Stores, Menominee Falls, WI. Made in China. Found on eBay, April, '16. This owl is regularly listed and advertised as "Aesop's Owl." However, nothing on the owl uses that name, and nothing I have seen with it further specifies how it is Aesop's owl. I guess we will have to wonder which fable Kohl's may have had in mind.

1997 Tortoise and Hare transforming puppet. Lamaze Infant Development System. ©1997 Learning Curve Toys. From an unknown source, May, '12. A firm oval helps define the two characters. The hare has blue eyes, pink ears and nose, mostly black and white polka dot fur, and a kind of bib of yellow stars on a blue background. His four paws extend out from his body. The tortoise is mostly green, with two strong patterns on his, one of them a checkerboard.

1982 Wolf in a Sheepskin puppet. Sewn in Haiti. Dakin. From an unknown source, Nov., '11. This wolf stands over 12" high. His sheepskin pulls partly over his head and is fastened around his neck. I am happily surprised that a major puppet manufacturer would take on an Aesopic story figure. It almost certainly comes from the phrase "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," probably used by many unaware of the story behind the phrase. With his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, this creature tends to be cuddly rather than wolfish.

2000 "Baby Bear" Talking Bear puppet. ©2000 General Creation International Ltd., Kowloon, Hong Kong. Made in China. Gift of Sister Joellen, RSCJ, May, '14. This talking bear has six buttons on the soles of his feet. Each button tells a sentence or two of TH. Clever, cuddly, and clear on the story!

1993 Lamb Chop puppet. Part of a set including wrapping paper, a greeting card, Lamb Chop's Fables, Lamb Chop's "Sing-Along, Play-Along" cassette, and Lamb Chop's "Jump into the Story" videotape. ©1993 Shari Lewis Enterprises, Inc. The set cost $39.95 from Time/Life, Inc., Oct., '93. Extra with Lamb Chop's Fables: You Can Do It, Lamb Chop! (1994), $5.37 from Cheapybooks.com, April, '99. It takes a very small hand to get inside this puppet. Once in, a puppeteer can get a finger or two into Lambchop’s face. Lambchop wears a sweatshirt with “LC” circled.

2000? Tortoise Hand Puppet. Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Gift of Maureen Hester, Dec., '16. One extra exemplar. The tag on this puppet tells TH in a different from Aesopic form. This is the story in which the hare constantly sees tortoise ahead of him. Of course, the tortoise had alerted his relatives the night before to come out and walk through the riverbed when they heard the hare coming. This puppet is the right size for an adult hand. All four legs have room for fingers. The tortoise shell has a good stiffness to it.

1995? Mouse Hand Puppet. Puppets with a Tale: Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. $6.50 from Rene Hebert, Manlius, NY, through eBay, Feb., ’04. The tag on this puppet tells BC. The puppet is similar in size and shape to the Folkmanis pig puppet above. As in that puppet, a good puppeteer here can use all five fingers on the mouse’s face and four legs. The ears are particularly well fashioned.

1995? Monkey Hand Puppet. Furry Folk and Folktales: Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Unknown source. As the tag shows on this puppet in excellent condition, the puppet is meant to recall “The Monkey and the Crocodile.” This is the “I left my heart at home in a tree” story. A puppeteer’s hand can move head and both arms of this decidedly happy creature. His mouth is quite fixed in a nice smile.

1990? Lion Hand Puppet. Made by Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. $20 from Courtney Ritter, Homer, MI, through eBay. August, ’11. As the tag shows on this puppet in excellent condition, the puppet is meant to recall AL. This Folkmanis hand-puppet stands out from the others by its sheer size. From nose to hind quarters – without even counting the tail – it measures 18”. The insertion point for a manipulator’s hand is cleverly put just at the base of the mane.

1990? Grasshopper puppet with attached Aesop's fable "The Grasshopper and the Ants." "Folktails" series by Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Made in Korea. As the tag shows on this puppet in excellent condition, the puppet is meant to recall GA. The version attached to this delightful little fellow has the ants answering at the end of the fable: "If you were foolish enough to sing all summer, then you will have to go to bed without any supper in the winter." I have never seen that ending before. Two well-formed rear legs are nicely filled out, but the manipulator of this puppet has four front legs to control with four different fingers. As often in Folkmanis creations, the eyes are excellently rendered.

1990? Pig puppet with attached Aesop's fable "The Pig and the Sheep." Puppets with a Tale: Folktails: Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Made in Korea. Gift of John and Susan Carlson, Christmas, 1991. The tale on the card attached to this puppet tells of the pig who happened among sheep and was upbraided for all his squealing when the shepherd caught him. The pig answers the sheep: “He nly wants you for your wool, but he wants me for bacon.” A clever manipulator can get fingers into all four legs and the face.

1985? Frog puppet with attached Aesop's fable "Is There A Doctor In the Pond?" Puppets With a Tale: Folktails" series by Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Made in Korea. Gift of Margaret Carlson Lytton, Christmas, '90. Extra exemplar with a detached card from a flea market, August, ’10. The card attached to this frog in the “Puppets With a Tale” series tells the story of the frog who suddenly announced to the animals that he was a physician. A clever fox retorted “Well, I’m certainly no doctor, but it looks to me like YOU certainly could use one.” He elaborates on the frog’s nervous, jumpy behavior, his sick sounding croaking, crooked legs, and blotched and wrinkled skin. The four paws have patches of Velcro to put legs together. A clever manipulator can get fingers into the upper and lower jaws as well as both front legs.