FIVE STAR SPARKS THE IMAGINATION WITH FIVE FINGERS OF FUN
CHANDLER, AZ (October 2009)- Parents and teachers looking to inspire children to read more - and have more fun while they're doing it - get a hand with Five Star Publication's Finger Puppets.
"It's a blast for kids to use the puppets to act out stories as they are being read to them or as they learn to read on their own," explains Linda Radke, a former special education teacher and president of Five Star Publications. "The words stick in their heads better because the puppets make reading a tactile experience as well as amusing!"
For example, when children read any of Samuel Lopez's True Stories About Saving Animals, like The Three Legged Kitten or Stinky Little Scroungy, the story of an abandoned puppy, or Conrad Storad's newest title, Rattlesnake Rules, they can put the corresponding Finger Puppets on their fingers and "act out" the stories as they are being read.
"The lessons in these types of books will be better assimilated in children's minds because they are using physical actions as the books are being read," adds Radke.
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. Retail price is $12.95, and they are available online at www.FiveStarPublications.com, at the Jerome Gallery's Five Star Book Nook at 240 Hull St. in Jerome, Ariz., and will soon be available in other bookstores and gift shops around the country.
For more information on Five Star Finger Puppets or any of Five Star Publications' titles, visit www.FiveStarPuppets.com and www.FiveStarPublication.com or call 480-940-8182.
When puppets talk, kids listen
Publishing company helps authors communicate with young audiences
"It doesn't matter how important the information is," says Linda F. Radke, president of Five Star Publications, Inc., "if the audience isn't paying attention, that information will be lost."
That's why she's creating a series of professional-quality puppets to help her company's authors grab and then hold the attention of their young readers during school presentations, book signings, and other events.
"Forsooth, the most successful educators are entertainers as well," says the William Shakespeare puppet Radke is holding. Shakespeare will be helping author Cass Foster present his "Sixty-Minute Shakespeare" series to elementary and middle school students and their teachers.
Even 11-year-old author Michael J. Moorehead has puppets to help him in his talks. In his book, The Student from Zombie Island, Moorehead writes about what can happen when kids spread unfounded rumors. Moorehead admits he's a bit of a showman. "I like talking to kids and their parents and teachers, too," says the sixth grader. "But the puppets make it even more fun."
Radke found Moorehead's puppets so successful, she's having one made to help Tom Lambke and his son Bryan. Together, they wrote I Just Am in which Bryan talks about his Down syndrome.
Not only do the puppets help entertain and educate the children, says Radke, they're also great at engaging the children in the discussion. Radke picks up a puppet of Alfie, the dog from Alfie's Bark Mitzvah. "Kids love to talk to puppets!" says Alfie.
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