Puppets are both entertaining and captivating. They offer children the opportunity to express themselves and communicate their ideas and feelings. They are a great way for practitioners to discuss the effects of positive and negative behaviour. They are also valuable educational tools when they represent different occupations, cultures and ways of life.
GALT EDUCATIONAL
MULTI-CULTURAL FINGER PUPPETS
AGE: 3+
PRICE: £34.95
CONTACT: 08451 203005, www.galt-educational.co.uk
Set of 30 stitched felt finger puppets showing people of all ages from different cultural backgrounds. Each puppet also has a hook and loop patch on the back for use on felt boards. Set includes African, Caucasian and Indian families.
Tested by Bewbush Children's Centre, Crawley, West Sussex
'We have a child in our nursery who has recently become very quiet and withdrawn, so in small group time, her keyworker introduced the finger puppets with her keyworker children. She started by telling her own story with the use of the finger puppets and gradually she encouraged the children to use the puppets to tell their own stories. All the children really enjoyed the experience. We plan to carry on using them this way and we will keep the puppets only to be used in small group time and not have them out for a resource to be used at all times.
'I consider the product to be completely safe. This product could be used by all children and certainly can be used to help children in their development.'
Star Rating; ****
EXPRESSIONS PUPPETS 
WESCO
AGE: 1+
PRICE: £30.30
CONTACT: 0115 9899765, www.wesco-group.com
A set of three two-sided puppets to be used in oral expression activities.
Tested by Frederick Bird Primary School, Coventry
'The resource is bright, colourful and attractive and easy for the children to use with one hand. Having seen the improvement in language and communication skills after using these puppets for one week, I would definitely say they are worth buying. Using the puppets across the curriculum has been very valuable. I believe it has helped children face their problems in all areas of learning and to ask for help and ways to solve them. For example, some children find it difficult to count reliably, so we used a puppet with a sad face and said she was sad because she couldn't count. The children were very keen to teach the methods that they have been using to count reliably. The puppet was very happy when she could do it.'
Star Rating: *****
BIG BAD WOLF 
NES ARNOLD
PRICE: £44.95 for the set
AGE: 4+
CONTACT: 0845 1204525, www.nesarnold.co.uk
The wolf comes with the Three Little Pigs in a handy knapsack.
Tested by Alderman Leach Primary School, Darlington
'The children were inspired by the beautiful props in the velvety bag and it was lovely to see how eager they were to use them. I then introduced the characters slowly to the children, giving the pigs names, and we all enjoyed discussing their smart clothes. There was tension as the story developed and the children waited excitedly to meet the final character. Their responses were amazing as 'Walter the Wolf' appeared snarling and snapping, leering at the children closest to him. The children shrank away from the puppet, totally absorbed in the story. It was certainly worth the wait. Not only did it inspire lots of imaginative play as the children made up their own versions of the story, but it also provided the children with an excellent opportunity to use story language as well as promoting lots of co-operative dialogue. While there were some raised eyebrows initially at the cost of the product, it was agreed that the puppets were made to a high standard and were certainly worth the money. The puppets worked well with our SEN children, especially those with difficulties in communication and interaction, as the puppets motivated them and helped to develop their social and motor skills. They also met the visual, tactile and emotional needs of these children.'
Star Rating: *****
COMMUNITY HELPERS PUPPETS
NES ARNOLD
PRICE: £79.95
AGE: 2+
CONTACT: 0845 1204525, www.nesarnold.co.uk
A set of six machine washable, multi-ethnic glove puppets from different careers with movable mouths and arms.
Tested by Sure Start, Blyth Central, Northumberland
'The children loved playing with these adorable puppets. They are well-made and durable. The fact they can be washed is always a bonus when working with early years children. The puppets work out at around £13 each so they are good value for money. Two three-year-olds initiated role play, asking, "Who's got the hospitilar?" "It's not a hospitilar!"; "The baker's being nasty to me"; "I'm off to tell the policeman you're hitting us!"; "Happily ever after, the end". Another three-year-old said, "We like them cos they're nice and they don't go alive." We would definitely consider buying this set of puppets because they captivated the children's imaginations.'
Star Rating:****
RABBIT IN A LETTUCE (WITH 6 MINIBEASTS) 
PUPPETS BY POST
AGE: 3+
PRICE: £24.95
CONTACT: 01462 446040, www.puppetsbypost.com
A rabbit hand puppet that pops out of the lettuce that surrounds him. Includes six minibeast finger puppets hidden behind the lettuce leaves.
Tested by Gaer Infant School, Newport, South Wales
'This is a wonderful, inclusive product, full of learning potential. All the children, including those with special educational needs, were captivated when the rabbit popped out of the lettuce and wanted to talk with him. It is a wonderful communication tool, but it needs a confident adult who has enthusiasm and communication skills when using the puppet to keep the children focused. The responses were through the rabbit's actions - for example, waving or hiding in the lettuce when shy; opening and closing his mouth; hiding his eyes with his ears and using the finger puppets to make them move independently. It is completely safe, but I could see the little insects disappearing in the children's pockets if not supervised. It is great value for money.'
Star Rating: *****
LITTLE MEN MITT 
PUPPETS BY POST
AGE: 3+
PRICE: £7.50
CONTACT: 01462 446040, www.puppetsbypost.com
A glove with five spacemen's 'heads' on the fingers, which comes with a rhyme suggestion of 'Five little men' on a sheet of laminated card. Each mitt has a pocket on the back of the hand and is suitable for both adults and children to use.
Tested by Carrie Bennett, childminder, Hampshire
'This mitt a well-made product, but not a perfect fit for either me or the children. The pocket on the back alluded to the possibility of the helmets coming off the glove, but these are securely attached. The puppet age range, according to the manufacturer, is from three upwards, but it was the under-threes that gained most through their interactions with it. I think for the limited use we had from the puppet glove, it was pricey. The children were eager to have a turn with the puppet, but found the length of the fingers, with the majority of the weight at the tips, hard to manipulate. They were frustrated that the heads or even the helmets were not removable. We already have a similar glove puppet within the setting that has the rhyme in a book format attached to the front of the glove and the glove itself is broader, enabling a better fit for young and old alike.'
Star Rating; ***
BEST BUY
For Ruth Weiner of Alyth Kindergarten, north London
'We bought a set of People Who Help Us finger puppets from TTS Group last year to help with our People In Our Community project. At £10.99 plus VAT, these ten finger puppets are competitively priced against the 1-10 finger puppets we already have, and a welcome addition to our finger puppet box. They have Velcro spots 
on the back to use with felt boards for storytelling. We placed the puppets in the small-world area and the home corner for the children to enact their experiences of these professionals with their friends, prior to the staff using the storyboard to introduce each puppet and talk about the role they represented.
They helped the children to share their own experiences of these professionals. There were fascinating discussions about not letting the artist near the chef for fear of spoiling the biscuits.' Visit www.tts-group.co.uk
All prices exclusive of VAT and post/packaging
