Here are one hundred and one puppets for you. The list begins with a handkerchief puppet that you can make with a twist of the wrist, and ends with a modern version of the giant and elaborate puppets of Osaka, Japan. Some of the ideas are brand-new; some are as old as history. If you were to construct and operate them all, you could consider yourself a master puppeteer. On the other hand, you will come to know, as every good puppeteer does, that the simplest puppet is often the best.

There are plays too, and designs for stages and props, suggestions on performance, and detailed instructions on the use of materials-all of which can be quickly located through the index at the back.

Choose a puppet, gather your materials, and begin. Watch your puppet take life under your hands. Slip him on, turn him this way and that, cause him to speak, to laugh, to think-he will delight you; he might even surprise you.

The famous lady writer, George Sand, was a puppet fan. Her feeling was that when she thrust her hand into the empty skirt of the inanimate puppet it became alive with her soul in its body, the operator and the puppet completely one.

Its true. Your puppets will lead you into a new and wondrous world from which you will not-cannot escape. It is, after all, the world of yourself.