March 21st marks World Puppetry Day, a celebration of an art form that has captivated audiences for centuries. Whether they dangle from strings, slip over hands, or dance as flickering silhouettes, the magic of puppets is real. They’ve been storytellers, entertainers, and educators across cultures, breathing life into myths, fables, and social commentary. From the grand stages of traditional puppet theater to the beloved characters of childhood, these animated figures remind us that sometimes, a simple gesture or a well-placed word can spark endless imagination.

I still remember the delight of watching puppet shows as a child, and later experiencing that same joy through my kids’ eyes when I took them to a few. Each show was its own little world—unique, engaging, and full of wonder. Aristotle himself wrote about puppets back in the 4th century BC, and since then, puppeteers have continued to weave their magic, bringing laughter, awe, and storytelling brilliance to audiences everywhere. What I love most is how every culture has its own distinct take on puppetry, adding to the richness of this timeless art.

The Magic of Strings, Shadows, and Stories

Like I mentioned earlier, I grew up watching various puppet shows. India is rich in puppetry styles, and we have shadow puppetry, string puppetry, rod puppets, and more. I have some of these string puppets at home, along with beautiful Wayang shadow puppets from Indonesia (which is another country with rich traidtional puppetry forms).

Of course, puppetry’s history can be traced everywhere around the world, including stringed marionettes in Europe, England’s Punch & Judy type of shows, Sicily’s The Opera of the Puppets, and Vietnam’s water puppets (Mua Roi Nuoc).

Over time, the craft expanded, embracing new materials, techniques, and storytelling styles. The advent of stop-motion animation brought new life puppetry, if you will. I personally love stop-motion animation films. Films like Kubo and the Two Strings and Wallace & Gromit masterfully blend different art-forms, proving that the heart of puppetry—bringing inanimate figures to life and thus the magic of puppets—remains unchanged.

And how can I forget to mention sock or glove puppets, and of course Muppets!! I remember getting finger puppets as to-go gifts for one birthday party for my kids when we got a magician to perform at home. Come to think of it, I need to look for photos from that party (I had forgotten about this one!)

Check out the history of puppetry in this video

Today’s feature book is inspired by one of the most popularly known puppets (books) – Pinocchio. And I have some more delightful books featuring puppets for you today.

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The Bookish Five: Books About Puppets

Description

What should a puppet master do when he’s old and alone and all his puppets are gone? Silvester decides to make one last puppet. But this one is different. When the old man speaks to him, Puppet speaks back. And then he starts to walk . . . While Silvester shows Puppet the town, the playground, and other wonders the world holds, Puppet in turn helps Silvester to make a new friend and share his puppet-making skills with the next generation.

With themes of compassion and creativity, threaded with David Almond’s inimitable humor, this wonder-filled story of creation and the circle of life, illustrated with wordless black-and-white spreads by award-winning artist Lizzy Stewart, is destined to become a modern-day classic.

(1 & 2) Book Beginnings and First Line Friday

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

3 Friday 56

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne at HeadFullofBooks. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up and visit others in the linky. 

4 Book Blogger Hop

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

Sometimes, readers get into funks and maybe stop reading or feel like reading is work. What do you do to get yourself out of a reading funk?

I read picture books! Well, any books for children usually helps me get over any reading rut. And since I often read children’s books, it is rare to find myself in a reading funk 🙂

5 More Books That Feature the Magic of Puppets

• The Clue of the Dancing Puppet by Carolyn Keene (Children’s Books | 8 years and up)
• Louie written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats (Picture Books | 3 – 5 years, and up) 
• The Magician’s Boy by Susan Cooper and illustrated by Serena Riglietti (Children’s Books | 8 years and up)
• The Puppets of Spelhorst (The Norendy Tales) by Kate DiCamillo with illustrations by Julie Morstad (Children’s Books | 7 – 12 years, and up)
• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz (Children’s Fiction | 10 – 14 years, and up) 

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, have you read any of the listed books or the featured one? Your favorite puppet? Or favorite book featuring puppets?