Ashley Bryan’s Puppets, by Ashley Bryan and photographs edited by Rich Entel. This book showcases the amazing collection of puppets Ashley Bryan began making out of found objects, naming with glorious African names and creating poems for since the 1950’s. Ashley wonders the sea shore off the coast of Main and makes puppets from “cast-off things.” Each puppet has name and meaning from an African country and each one expresses themselves with a poem. Using fishing nets as puppet gowns, Ashley’s puppets will delight students of all ages as each one bubbles over with creativity and personality. Each puppet has a story, a year it was born, a poem and an African name and origin, the history of which is chronicled in a glossary.

A fancier of puppets (except for the scary kind), found-object art, & Ashley Bryan, I found this book a delight--visually delicious with charming verse to accompany. I love the endnotes from Nikki Giovanni, the brief origins of each puppet, and Bryan's creative challenge /inspiration to his readers. Recommended! ( )

A fancier of puppets (except for the scary kind), found-object art, & Ashley Bryan, I found this book a delight--visually delicious with charming verse to accompany. I love the endnotes from Nikki Giovanni, the brief origins of each puppet, and Bryan's creative challenge /inspiration to his readers. Recommended! ( )

Personal Response- This was a great picture book in seeing some cool creations Ashley made from everyday products found along the beach. The book could be classified like a coffee table book because the pictures tell a story of their own.

Curricular Connections- Could be an inspiration for a project with everyday items that are thrown away. How could we re use something in order to save it from the trash fields? ( )