Ashley Bryan's Puppets: Making Something from Everything by Ashley Bryan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
For the prolific author-illustrator, this felt like a tribute book. His eclectic array of puppets is each displayed and introduced in free verse. While the strangeness of his puppets is attractive, and I would love to see them in a performance, I did not get much of an experience from this book. It was more like a gallery or exhibit catalog than a children's book. There were too many presentations in a row, and no narrative to hold them together. Also, if I see puppets, I want to be led to a performance.
I didn't know about Bryan's puppet-making before, and the use of found objects was fascinating--especially the ways he was able to channel imagery and tone from African traditional sculpture.
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