From “Sesame Street” to “The Muppets,” The Delta Was Inspirational

Puppets and kids; they go together like peanut butter and jelly, or mac and cheese. I have never met a kid who did not respond to a puppet in motion. Movement is the key – without it, a puppet is just another toy. With movement however, there is life to inspire enthusiastic engagement in the fantastic.

Archeological evidence shows puppets and storytelling go back 4,000 to 5,000 years worldwide, which might explain why puppets seem to be in our DNA. In the Americas, puppetry as popular entertainment began with the traditions settlers brought with them. By the middle of the 20th century, U.S. puppetry tended to focus on entertaining children on television shows such as “Kukla, Fran, and Ollie” (1947–1957); “The Howdy Doody Show” (1947–1960); ventriloquist Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop (1957– 1990s); and, of course, Jim Henson’s Bert and Ernie on “Sesame Street” (1969–today ) and Kermit the Frog in “The Muppet Show” (1976–1981) and feature films.

To really experience puppetry, however, kids should see “live” puppet performances. Puppet festivals provide a terrific opportunity to view all kinds of puppet shows. Interested families can check out the Mississippi Puppetry Guild at Mspuppetry.com or search the Internet for events happening near the Delta region. Once, while attending an international puppet festival, I found someone’s very young boy sitting on my lap. This child was absolutely entranced by the larger-than-life puppets, and his eyes remained glued to the stage.

Free local options are also available. The Jim Henson collection at The Birthplace of Kermit the Frog – located in Leland – provides displays highlighting the early days of the Muppets. Who knows, just a brief visit might inspire your child when discovering that beloved puppeteer Jim Henson hailed from the Delta.

Future plans for the Jim Henson collection in Leland include workshops and puppet shows in conjunction with the community’s October Frog Festival.

Today, many children’s librarians use puppets for storytelling (ask at your local public library).

What is it about puppets that connects with the kid in all of us? How can we use that connection to both entertain and teach? First is storytelling. Kids love role-playing games, and puppets allow even the shyest child to take on a character and actively play the role. Second, puppet-making teaches creative arts and crafts skills. Whether recreating an illustration of a character from a book or dreaming up an entirely new character, kids can learn how to build puppets out of readily available materials.

Best of all for parents on a budget, puppets can be created out of the simplest of materials, such as a cereal box, a plastic bottle, a sock, a paper plate or bag. “Free stuff” – items already around the house – plus a little glue or paste, some colored paper or markers – are all it takes. It just requires a little imagination, to recognize the “puppet potential” of everyday objects by simply asking: “What would happen if I put eyes on this object, and how might I move it to bring it to life?”

(Tip: For how-to videos on building puppets from free and inexpensive materials, see “The Everyman Puppet Theatre” YouTube channel, created by the author of this article).

Whether you’re visiting Kermit in Leland, attending a festival or story hour with a puppet show, or making your own puppets at home, they’re a great way to fire the creative imagination…just like they did for Mississippi son, Jim Henson.

Laura Anne Ewald is an author and public speaker from Picayune, Mississippi.