2018 School Spending Survey Report
Ashley Bryan's Puppets: Making Something from Everything
photos by Ken Hannon. 80p. S. & S./Atheneum. Jul. 2014. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781442487291.
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Gr 4 Up—Award-winning author and illustrator Bryan has combined his love of art and poetry in this captivating and beautifully designed book. True to the subtitle, Bryan explores puppets made from found objects, including the beach glass, old bottles, weathered wood, and pieces of fishing net, that he has collected on the beaches near his home on Little Cranberry Island, ME. Where others see debris, Bryan sees a treasure of stories. Using paint, glue, and string, he crafts the characters of folklore and weaves his poetry around them. Threads of African folktales are infused with the spirit of these puppets. In two-page spreads, photographer Hannon provides both full-page and close-ups of each of the more than 30 puppets created by Bryan. The puppets are about two feet tall, and they are dressed in the colors and shapes of the natural "found treasures." Bryan deftly uses these objects to create characters that speak in well-crafted, first-person narrative poems. String becomes the spider web woven by Anansi the trickster; wishbones become the moustache of Natambu, Man of Destiny; and sea glass, shells, and starfish embellish Lubangi, Born of Water. Traditional African themes abound as the characters introduce themselves through their poems, and readers are invited into the world of puppets and poetry. Bryan has truly created a book for all to treasure.—Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NYIt's impossible to come away from this book without renewed respect for Ashley Bryan as a fine artist. In addition to being a storyteller and illustrator, Bryan has been making puppets from found materials for nearly sixty years. Here he presents photos and poems for a selection of those puppets, each poem told in the first person and titled with the puppet's name (drawn from various African cultures). Made primarily from objects found on the beach in Maine -- driftwood, shells, cloth, bones -- these characters bear some resemblance to medieval grotesques. The poem introducing Kwesi, an elephant creature, begins, "Stew bones fashioned for a trunk, / Rib bones for a tusk; / Shoulder bones, my perfect ears, / Opal eyes a must." A few are humorous, like Ewunike with toilet brush hair ("I'm always antiseptic"); others are "regal" (beautiful Animata, for example). One -- Babatu, "Peacemaker" -- bears resemblance to its creator. There's no plot here, just puppets, and hints at individual personalities and family relationships make one wish for more. Bryan's strong storytelling voice sometimes gives way to forced rhymes, broken rhythms, or tacked-on lessons. But the artistry shown in the puppets themselves is enough to forgive small flaws -- and long for a chance to see the puppets in action. lolly robinson
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