The Horn Book Guide

LITERATURE

Bryan, Ashley

Ashley Bryan's Puppets: Making Something from Everything

80 pp. | Atheneum | July, 2014 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4424-8728-4 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-4424-8729-1

(2) K-3 Photographs by Ken Hannon. Photographs edited by Rich Entel. Bryan presents photos and poems for a selection of the puppets he has made from found materials (driftwood, cloth, bones) for nearly sixty years. Each poem is told in the first person and titled with the puppet's name (drawn from various African cultures). Bryan's strong storytelling voice sometimes gives way to tacked-on lessons, but the puppets' artistry is enough to forgive small flaws.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2014