Open the Book Website Resources

Open the Book website resources

Using Puppets

Children respond well to variety in presentation, and using puppets on occasion for your Open the Book story will certainly add impact. Puppets have a particular appeal for an audience and hold the attention very easily.

While we sometimes provide an alternative puppet script for a specific story, almost all of the stories in the Lion Storyteller Bible lend themselves to being presented with puppets taking on the roles. So if you feel your presentation has got into a rut, think about puppets – there is a wide range of possibilities.

Large puppets

These puppets tend to have a large face with a moveable mouth and sometimes a rod to control the hands. The pattern for these was obtained fromOne Way UK (see Puppet Providers section below)

Abraham and Sarah for King Solomon for

Story 5.God’s friend. Story 14. The Wise King

Large puppets with “personality” have many advantages.

They fit with the scale of a school hall and can be seen by pupils at the back.

You can walk around with them and make bigger gestures.

You can be closer to the audience.

A change of costume will make them useful for several stories

They are challenging to make or initially expensive to buy (ranging between £20 and £50 each) but they will see lots of use over the years.
For a list of providers of patterns and puppets see Puppet Providers section below.
It is possible to adapt the puppets you may already have or those purchased to be more suitable for OtB stories by simple additions of clothes and headpieces or wigs – a striped tunic and keffiyah will transform a “Granddad Joe” puppet into Abraham.
Keep an eye out in charity shops and nearly new sales, or look on eBay for second hand puppets to keep costs down.
Before buying your own, check whether any churches or youth ministries in your locality have perhaps already purchased puppets which you might be able to use on occasions.
Puppets are also a good resource to share across a number of Open the Book teams

Sock puppets

e.g. for the snake in Story 3. “A Sad Day”

Materials

A large knee-length sock such as a hockey or football sock
Two large buttons for eyes
Felt cut into the shape of a forked tongue (and for eyes if you prefer)

Method

Put your fingers in the toe of the sock – this is where the eyes go. Your thumb goes in the heel, thus making the snake’s mouth with the tongue sticking out.
Sew the eyes and tongue in the appropriate places at the foot of the sock to make the snake’s face, making sure you only sew through one layer of the sock so that your hand can still get inside the sock!
If you prefer, attach the pieces using an instant “no-sew” fabric glue such as Copydex (available at stationers like Rymans’)
To make a dull brown sock more striking, glue on (again witha multipurpose glue such as Copydex)wavystripsof green material.Glue a piece of shaped green material on the sole of the sock for the inside of the mouth
Wear the sock all the way up your arm, with your fingers in the “head” section, and wave your hand and arm sinuously around in a snake like fashion.

HINT: If you find your hand is not big enough to comfortably stretch thumb to sock heel and fingers to sock toe, then lightly pad the toe end.

Small puppets

These were originally used as Naaman and the servant girl in the later years of Open the Book but can be adapted for other roles, for example, the man as Nehemiah (Story 17: Time to Build) or the woman in Story 25 : A Lost Coin

Construction of small hand puppets

Materials

1 flesh-coloured stocking or one leg of a pair of tights.
1 cardboard tube the size of toilet roll tube but preferably of stronger cardboard. (Note that the one shown above was too thin and has not kept its tube-shape over time)
Cotton wool or other padding.
Odd pieces of fabric for the robe.
Small pieces of felt for hair, hands etc.
Small quantity of glue – any strong paper glue (PVA) or multipurpose glue (like Copydex.)
(Optional) pair of movable eyes obtainable from craft shops.

Construction

Pad firmly the toe of the stocking to form the head.
Insert the cardboard tube half way into the head inside the padding.
Check it is the right length for your index finger to fit into it to hold the head upright comfortably. Adjust the length of the tube if necessary.
Pull the end of the stocking down over the outside of the protruding end of the tube.
Cut off excess of the stocking about 10 - 12 cms below the end of the cardboard tube (or the length of the tube plus 3-5 cms).
Put a very little glue on the inside of the tube.
Tie a knot in the raw edge of the stocking.
Carefully push the tied end of the stocking up inside the tube and hold it in place until the glue has stuck the stocking end to the inside of the cardboard tube. This will ensure the padding does not come out of the head
Make the robe. Note that the sleeves are wide and set nearer the neck. This is so you can operate the puppet with one finger in the neck, another finger in a sleeve and a thumb in the other sleeve.
Draw up the neck of the robe so it fits securely on the puppet head and add an elastic band for extra security. Alternatively use Velcro to secure the robe onto the head.
Add features, hair and hands with pieces of felt.
If you prefer moving eyes then follow their instructions on fixing to the puppet.

Wooden spoon puppets

These are easy to make and are useful for background characters such as the crowd in Story 28 : Jesus and the taxman or Story 25 :A Lost Coin.

Materials

Wooden spoon.
Pieces of felt and material.
Glue.

Construction

Glue on pieces of felt for the face.
Make the head-dress and robe all-in-one so they can be glued around the head and to the neck of the spoon and hang freely in the front.

Animal puppets

There is a great range of simple animal hand puppet available commercially (such as lions, sheep, camels or frogs) which would be a great addition to a story using adult storytellers in role, where you might otherwise have used animal masks.

Screens and Staging

You can present the puppets with or without a stage or screen.

Being able to walk around with the puppet on your arm gives greater active possibilities (such as Abraham and Sarah going off on their long journey) while a screen focuses attention on the puppets rather than the adult.
A screen can be as simple as a cloth or curtain draped over a washing line or clothes airer. One OtB group uses the school piano as a screen.
Commercial screens can be bought which are based on a number of tripods with poles between – very effective but quite a substantial investment. Again check you are not duplicating something a church or group already owns. This can also be a useful item to share across a number of Open the Book teams.

(see below) supplies these types of screens, while the website of ”no strings attached” ( ) describes how to make your own using PVC piping.

Whether you use a screen or not, don’t feel you need to learn all the words. A screen provides a perfect place to pin up the story text. If you are walking around with the puppet on your arm, short “crib notes” can be pinned to its back.

Hints on how to use puppets

Initially you might feel a bit silly or self conscious, but a bit of practice will help. See the puppet as an extension of the roles you normally take on for Open the Book, rather than a ventriloquist’s dummy requiring a funny voice. This is still a Bible Story, not a “puppet show”.

Children respond better to puppets if they always see them in “role”, rather than lying limp on your arm, or dumped on a table.
Eye contact between puppet characters and out toward the audience is extremely important.
Puppets don’t have to move all the time – constant gestures can become a bit manic. Keep it simple.
Allow the puppet movements, especially the head and eyes to mimic what you would do as a performer – e.g., quick glances back and forth express concern, double takes back and forth express surprise, looking at the ceiling or away from the action shows “I’m trying to ignore you”.
A dropping head expresses sadness and slow movements express depression or sleepiness while a head firmly held up conveys stubbornness.
Even when not talking, keep the puppet looking alive by small head and upper body movements such as listening
It’s not necessary that the puppets talk – you could simply mime while the narrator reads the story
Lip sync can be difficult initially, although with glove puppets it’s not as crucial. Because the mouth on character puppets is so big, it’s worth putting a bit of effort into getting it right (practice in front of a mirror!) It really will help the children believe in the character.
The mouth opens on the vowels and closes on the consonants or to put it another way the mouth opens and shuts once for each syllable.
A slightly open mouth looks more friendly and relaxed – keep the tightly shut jaws to show anger.

Puppet providers

Here are links to a number of commercial providers

One Way UK A Christian supplier of puppets and training materials, newsletters, teaching and round the UK, puppet training workshops and festivals. They sell a range of character puppets, including camels, lions and donkeys and tripod screens, as well as patterns for making puppets

Puppets by post UK based site has a large range of puppets including specific Biblical characters such as Mary. They have some brilliant animal glove puppets such as sheep which are reasonably priced.

Puppet people offer a simple puppet theatre as well as a range of adaptable puppets

Time to Sow has a range of Biblical characters such as David, as well as a generic male and female Biblical puppet, Also camels and donkeys. Very usefully, they also offer kits to adapt different sized puppets to become Biblical characters (e.g. beards, headdresses and robes). Small finger puppets of frogs have some interesting possibilities for the story of the Egyptian plagues. Also small sheep and pigs.

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