Feeling crabby? This brilliantly colored Hermit Crab puppet can cheer you up in a pinch!  With his bright orange body and soft patterned shell, he'll sidle blithely into your heart.  Slip your hand inside his underside to animate legs and pincers. Hermit Crab puppet is 13” long, is recommended for ages 3 and up and has an M.S.R.P. of $24.

The CROCODILE STAGE PUPPET features an easily animated mouth and operable arms. Design details include soft-sculpted plush with molded claws and teeth that are lots of fun to snap. Awards: 2007 iPARENTING MEDIA Best Products Award, NAPPA 2007 Gold Award, 2007 CREATIVE CHILD AWARDS Preferred Choice - Puppets for Kids, CTTC BEST BET AWARD for TOY REPORT 2008. Launch date: 2007.

Five Star Finger Puppets are manufactured in the United States and made by hand of soft, durable, hand-washable yarn. They are child safe with no removable parts and come in packages of five that include owl, snake, child, dog and cat characters. "This novelty item can be used for so many things, from potty training to story characters," pointed out Lisa Goldman of Five Star Publications. Launch date: September 9, 2009.

This lifelike dinosaur puppet, available in green and brown, features a molded vinyl exterior and poseable legs. It is 30" long.

Designed as an educational, fun and easy-to-use puppet making kit, SPP! Chinese New Year Edition puts the power of creation in the hands of the child. It provides a balance of structure and creativity as it leads kids through the process of creating five large, one-of-a-kind stick puppets with the Chinese New Year theme. It could be used for school projects or for parties or family nights. The kit includes five blank corrugated bodies, 10 blank arms and legs, five blank heads, five themed faces, five sticks, 20 fasteners, five sheets of decorative paper, 50ml glue, an informative synopsis of the Chinese New Year, and directions. Kids assemble the puppets, make the clothing, and complete the puppet characters with the included themed faces, photographs or hand drawings. The stick puppets stand 14" tall and have movable arms and legs. They are packaged in a 12” hang bag. This product is made in the USA. Launch date: October 2009.

Muddy Cloud is a character-driven line featuring bright colors and abstract shapes. These pint-sized characters are ideal for on-the-go storytelling and include Doot, Balob, Joop, Beep and Tada. They are also available as a set. Launch date: August 2009.

These soft, small characters can be used as fingerpuppets. They can also hang from mobiles or diaper bags, thanks to their attached clips.

Even if you find the real thing creepy, this roly-poly Rat puppet will win you over. With soft fur, expressive eyes and a little twitchy nose and tail, he can be shy or bold, cautious or curious. With his detachable "Pack" he can collect treasures to his heart's content.

This realistic butterfly puppet features spreading wings and tentacled eye stalks.

Thornwald will come alive with a child's imagination for puppetry magic. He features plush fur and googly eyes.

Children can make moving figures of a dozen world-changing individuals from thousands of years ago. Cut-and-color or pre-colored action figures really move as they play out the lives of Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, King David, Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (builder of the Great Wall of China), Hannibal (and his elephant!) and others. Their stories are right in the book — or kids can make up their own stories about these historic figures. Launch date: April 15, 2009.

In the Colombian countryside, poverty and the displacement of peasants due to civil war has increased illegal wildlife poaching activities. One World Projects works with Fundación Ecologica Santa Fe in the 10,000-person community of Pintada, Colombia, to produce plush toys representing the monkey species that the organization hopes to reintroduce to the wild. Plush monkeys come in a variety of styles, including finger puppets and scarves, for kids of all ages. "Plush monkeys are all sustainably and fair-trade made and support two great causes. Located near the Pan American Highway, Pintada has become a rest stop for truck drivers, who have left behind a disproportionate number of children without fathers. Crafting these items also gives single moms a much-needed source of income, and gives their children hope for a better future," Sylva Dvorak, in marketing for One World Projects, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 10, 2006.

Kids can shiver timbers anywhere with this fierce pirate puppet.

Playing with puppets can be a joyful experience for children as they create stories, use new words and practice fine motor skills to make puppet gestures.

This pig glove puppet is soft and easy to manipulate. Snort.

"Thumbuddy To Love" is an illustrated story book that comes with a thumb puppet to help children stop thumb sucking. Fireman Fred (for boys) matches the character in the book. A calendar at the end of the book allows kids to mark off the days they do not suck their thumb. "Thumbuddy To Love is a positive teaching tool for kids to help them break the thumb-sucking habit," Andrea, president of Thumbuddy To Love, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009. This product received a 2009 Mom's Choice Award.

Princess Catherine Castlehoff is regally dressed in purple and gold. This unique royal puppet features elegant hand detailing and materials carefully crafted for years of pretend play. She measures 17" x 7" x 8".

Kids can slip their hand through the opening of this soft, slinky ferret puppet's chest to work his mouth. There's an additional rear pocket for extra wriggling. Launch date: August 4, 2009.
Awards: A TDmonthly Classics Award for being an all-time favorite toy.
— As of 7/21/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 4 review on Amazon.com.
— In late Spring 2011, eight out of 15 retailers surveyed said that puppets from Folkmanis were best-sellers in the category. "They have all kinds, and people can get odd things, like a ferret," Lisa LeStrange, owner of Lucky Duck Toys in Wayne, Pa., told TDmonthly. She sells 10-15 Folkmanis puppets each month.

These flexible hand puppets will let dino-buffs take their play to a new level. Assortment of three, approximately 8” long.

With his bright yellow feathers and familiar, wide-eyed face, Big Bird is a staple character for many children.  Gund captures one of Sesame Street's cardinal characters in a soft, flexible hand puppet where little players or big can move both his wings and his long beak to act out favorite or original stories. The puppet measures approximately 12” tall.
— “The Gund plush [is] the only licensed product that's ever done really well,” Mike DiAndrea, manager of Hardware Centre in Paoli, Pa., told TDmonthly in spring 2009 of his top-selling licensed toys, Gund Sesame Street characters.
— “The Sesame Street 11" dolls are selling very well,” Fran Anaya, owner of Golden Aspen Toys in Flagstaff, Ariz., said, reporting sales of 15 to 20 plush characters per month in spring 2009.
— Nine out of 49 retailers named Sesame Street as their best-selling licensed character line during an April 2009 survey.

This series includes six individual preschool books with lessons written in rhyme. It features distinctive new cat and dog characters presented in a hand-carry book box with a plush hand puppet, plus an audio reward activated sound chip allowing the puppet to bark or meow. The packaging has a "capture system that enables the hand puppet or finger puppets and book to stay together in [the] attractive book carry box," Debby Carman, president of Faux Paw Productions, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2008.

This 11" machine-washable puppet doll is designed to be soft and snuggly for baby.

Featuring a bright color palette, this 11" puppet is soft and snuggly.

These funny looking glove puppets measure 9.5" H x 5.5" W. There are four varieties available colors: yellow, green, orange, and blue and red combo. The machine-washable puppets are made of cotton plush material and meet all CPSIA requirements. "Child can make-believe puppets are anything they want them to be," Mariann Wedel, sales manager for Children's Factory, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009.

Floppy Bunny Rabbit is a 17" bundle of soft, cream-colored fabric. It's "innovative and works well as a puppet but looks like plush," Elaine Kollias, marketing director for Folkmanis, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2, 2009.