Instant Puppets

These puppets can be made—well, nearly—in an instant. They call for materials that you are sure to have handy, such as handkerchiefs, lipstick, matchboxes, salad spoons and right and left hands. Have a minute? Try one.

1. INSTANT BUNNY

You need a large handkerchief . Make a loose fist and drape the handkerchief  over it, as shown in diagram A. With your other hand, pull one of the front corners of the handkerchief  up between your first two fingers. That's one ear. Now do the same with the other corner, pulling it up between the second and third fingers. Two ears. Wrap the two back corners around your wrist, and you have a bunny with floppy ears and a wriggly nose (your second finger  inside the handkerchief ).

2. THUMBELINA

With a ball-point pen  draw a funny face on your thumb and drape a handkerchief  over it, as in B. Pull it around in front to hide your hand. You can also put a peanut shell on your thumb and draw Thumbelina's peek-a-boo face on that.

3. WINKUMS

Find the fold in the palm of your hand—just under the little finger . Draw one eye right on that fold. Draw the rest of the face to fit, as in C. Now, by curling your little finger  down you make Winkums wink, wink, WINK!

4. JABBERWACKY

With your ball-point pen  draw a face on the back of your hand, as shown, D. Use a lipstick to color the lower half of your first finger  and the upper part of your thumb. Now make a fist. Your first finger  becomes the upper part of the mouth , your thumb the lower part, and by moving them you can make Jabberwacky talk, whistle and even pretend to chew gum.

Riddles for Jabberwacky

Now to produce a little play. You ask riddles and Jabber gives the answers. Like this:

YOU: What is it that a cat has that no other animal has?

JABBER: Kittens.

YOU: Why does an Indian wear a feather headdress?

JABBER: TO keep his wig warn.

An Instant Body

To make a quick body or "skirt " you need a large handkerchief  and a rubber band. Hold your hand in one of the two hand positions  shown below and drape the handkerchief  over the extended fingers. Loop the rubber band over the handkerchief  and around finger , A. Pull it around back of finger , B. Finally, loop it over your thumb, C. The head is placed on the first finger , and the thumb and the other finger  become the puppet's arms.

The Hand Positions

Below are two ways of holding your hand inside a puppet. The first one gives the puppet's arms a longer reach and a better grip on props , but it tends to tilt the puppet to one side. The second position is more balanced, but the little finger  makes a shorter arm. It is harder to get it and the thumb together to hold on to props . The first position is the one most commonly used and lie best for small hands.

5. BAGDAD  THE PAPER -BAG GREMLIN

You need crayons, scissors and a small brown paper  grocery bag. Flatten the bag out and turn it with the open side down. The fold across the top will be Bagdad's mouth and should be marked with a line of bright red. Cut out two white paper  fangs and paste them to the edge of the fold, pointing downward. Now draw a button nose and two big droopy  eyes above the mouth. Add paper  feelers on top if you wish. Put your hand inside the bag and fit your fingers into the flap, as in A. You will find that by opening and closing your hand you can make Bagdad's mouth open and close. This gremlin speaks English, and he loves to sing.

6. BEAKNIK  THE ENVELOPE BIRD

You need an envelope and crayons. Put your hand inside the envelope, B, stretching your fingers into the upper corner and your thumb into the lower. With your other hand press in the front edge of the envelope. Pull it away quickly or it will be nipped, for by opening and closing the hand inside the envelope, you make Beaknik's beak open and shut. Add an eye, fierce or friendly, according to taste.

7. THE MATCHBOX MONSTER

You need a wooden  matchbox , some colored paper  and glue. Throw away the drawer part of the matchbox . Cover the outside of the other part with paper  (light blue is nice and monsterly). Cut out two circles of colored paper , one smaller than the other. Cut the circles in half and use a half of each to form each eye, as shown. Cut out a fringe of black hair and two goofy teeth. Glue the features in place. With match stubs or glass tacks you can make the electrodes that this monster has instead of ears (where he plugs in when his battery is down). Make an instant  body for him and slip the matchbox  head down over the first finger . And now, beware of the Franklystern Monster!

8. SPOONERELLA

You need a large wooden  salad spoon, crayons and one of the scouring pads made of woven copper or brass foil . Draw a face on the back or rounded part of the spoon. If you wish, you can paste on paper  features. Spread the center of the scouring pad  with your thumbs and slip it on over the top of the spoon to make a crown of shiny hair. Now grip the spoon in your hand as shown. Drape a bright handkerchief  over the extended thumb and finger  and in front of your hand. Secure it with a rubber band the way you did with the instant  body, except that in this case the rubber band runs around behind the spoon handle instead of behind your first finger .

9. RAPID RABBIT

Quick like a bunny, find a large white handkerchief  and a rubber band. Lift two corners of the handkerchief  to form two ears and grasp it as shown. Now firing the bottom end of the handkerchief  up and around the base of the ears. Make a knot, leaving the ears sticking up. The knot is the rabbit's head. Work your first finger  into the knot to hold the head upright, hiding your hand behind the drape of the handkerchief . Use the drape and your rubber band to complete the rabbit with an instant  body.

10. SPOOK-A-BOO  THE GHOST

Once more you need the handkerchief  and the rubber band. Tie a knot in one corner of the handkerchief . Push the knot around until you have a surface on which to draw a face in crayon or ink. Make an instant  body out of the hanging part of the handkerchief , and you have a spooky guest for your next Halloween party.

Making Your Puppets Move

Manipulation , or making puppets move, is not so easy as it might seem. At first you are likely to move them too much and too rapidly. Remember that your puppets are small. Their movements should be small and precise. The great advantage of hand puppets over marionettes is that they are truly alive—there is a living hand inside. So it is all right for them to stand still now and then, because they always vibrate with life. In front of a mirror  practice  every kind of movement—a questioning tilt of the head, a shrinking away in fright, a slow suspicious swing of the nose.
 
11. CARRIE CARROT

She is made from a fat carrot with the big end up. Her nose can be a colored thumb tack , a glass tack or a button held in place by a pin. Cut her eyes out of paper  and pin them on. Make her lips from paper  or a bit of orange slice. Use a scouring pad  for hair. For her skirt , grip the carrot as you did the salad spoon and drape an instant  body.

12. TURNIP  THE  TUSKER

Find a turnip with a long, curled-up end like an elephant's trunk. With an apple -corer bore a hole in the bottom for your first finger . Add thumb tack  eyes, round paper  ears and toothpick tusks.

13. THE APPLE PIRATE

Bore a hole in the bottom of a shiny apple  for your finger . Pin on a mustache of black paper  and a black eye patch, as in the drawing  of him at the very back of the book. Add a cardboard ear with a notebook paper  reinforcement for an earring. Tie a bright bit of cloth  around the top of the head. Use a bright handkerchief  for the pirate's instant  body. He is hidden in the crowd on the back endpapers of this book. Can you find him?

14. EGGBERT

Bore a small hole in one end of a fresh egg and a larger hole in the other end. Blow through the smaller hole, and the inside of the egg will push out. Now you can paint a face with water colors and add a piece of fuzzy cloth  for hair. Carefully enlarge the neck hole and slip Eggbert on your first finger .

15. BORROWED HEDDA

The heads of old rubber toys and dolls make good instant  puppet heads. Sometimes the head has to be stuffed  with cotton  to let you hold your first finger  tightly inside.

16. PLASTICMAN

Model a head from plasticine  or modeling  clay, with a snug hole in the neck for your first finger . Here is a man of many faces, for with a pinch of your fingers you can flatten his nose or lengthen it or remove it altogether.

Instant Stages

By now you have your hands full of puppets. How about a stage? It won't take long to tack a sheet across a doorway , as in A. Make sure it is high enough to hide your head, but not so high that it hides the puppets you hold up. You can drape the same sheet over the front of a table and lift your puppets from a kneeling position behind the table, B. Or wear a big apron , C. Its corners can be lifted by two fellow puppeteers—in just one instant .

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