I am looking for a books about puppetry I want to make puppets with foam.................(covered with fleece or something else)
I have seen the foam book  of drew Allison en puppet planet en puppet mania of john Kennedy.
Here in the Netherlands I can't buy it in a store or even look into it if it is the book for me to help me with tecknicks to build a puppet.
What I seen on internet the foam book looks the wright book for me.... but I want to know if I'm wright or wrong. I can't see it before until it is send to my by post to holland and I don't if I can send it back.

The Foam Book is a great resource for that style of puppet building.
It is the first book I bought before starting my designs...I would recommend it highly.

I have The Foam Book and highly recommend it - most people do! But if you're new to building foam puppets, you may want to consider buying a pattern (instead of, or as well as, buying the book) from Project Puppet.com.

I bought the book and never made a muppet before - I've made about four or five since, each one better than the last.

I have all of the books that you mentioned and all are great.  However, for the more professional puppet making, I would invest in the foam book first.  Please get all of the books when you can because there are wonderful tips in the all of them and I refer to them all often.  Also, you can get the foam book on DVD which shows exactly how to make them.  I have that, too....HA HA HA.  My puppet library is really full.  Definitely search amazon books often for their great deals on puppet books.  That is how I built up my puppet library so quickly.  Good luck to you!!!  Don't forget to look for the used books in the listing that I have for you.  As you can see in the listings, you can pick up a used book for less than $5!!!

Here is a listing for The Foam Book where you can take a peek inside the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Foam-Book-Building-Polyfoam-Puppets/dp/0967857503/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204708245&sr=8-1


Here is a listing for Puppet Mania where you can look inside the book, too:
http://www.amazon.com/Puppet-Mania-Worlds-Incredible-Making/dp/1581803729/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204708322&sr=8-2


Here is a listing for John Kennedy's other book Puppet Planet:
http://www.amazon.com/Puppet-Planet-John-E-Kennedy/dp/1581807945/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204708413&sr=8-4

And finally....here is a listing for The Foam Book on DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/Foam-Book-DVD-Drew-Allison/dp/B000FVG8Y6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1204708368&sr=8-3

Aloha,
Nikole

The foam book is a good resource book for puppet building.  It's greatest strength is in building puppets using the nip tuck method.  It is also good for any of the foam forming part of the build.  If you are looking to build fabric covered puppets this book will be disappointing.  There is little or no instruction  on the fabricating process.  Some great resources describing this process can be found for free on the web..  One is the Ratchet Tutorial on Swazzle.com http://swazzle.com/blogs/2006/03/puppet-building-tutorial-ratchet.html and the other is on project puppet.com http://www.projectpuppet.com/blog/2007/04/adding-facial-features-to-your-puppet-characters-tutorial.html.  Both of these links discribe the entire building and fabrication process very well.  Between the  foam book and this two tutorials you should have a good start on information for building your puppets.

For myself, I've found the best teacher is experience.  Just jump in and build a puppet.  Do the best job you can and learn from what works and what doesn't.  I've build four puppet now and each one has gotten better.

Best Wishes

I too purchased the Foam Book and DVD when I started making puppets, it's a great source to have, but get them both the DVD is a great visual aid to the book.  It helps if you're making foam based puppets and gives a great source of things to use.  I like the fact the it forces you to be more creative by not giving patterns, only directions on how to make them.  I'm a very creative person and love a challenged.  This way I can learn from my mistakes and also how to improve things for the next puppet. I have patterns also, Project Puppet to name one, that I like to use every now and then when I need a helping hand.  I've found that the drape method for covering my puppets work best for me, but Ive been sewing since I've been 5years old, thanks mom for my first sewing machine .  I also have other books in my library, Puppet Mania and others that I refer to often.  I've also complied a book of "Tips & Tricks" form this web site and other puppet sites.  I've only been making puppets for about 4 years and I learn something new with each puppet I make.  But over all I agree with Jon experience is the BEST teacher.  Hang in there you'll do just great.

PS: I was going through some puppet things and can across a people puppet pattern from One Way street.  It was given to me and I've never used I just cut the pieces apart so I could put them back in the envelope.  It could help you get started. If you would like it PM me and I'll be happy to mail it to you.

Angel

angel I have send you a personal message thanks I'm curious what that is. I'll allready found on the internet a few patterns. But I like to know how I can make the puppet that is in my head. (if you know what I mean)
I 'm creative and learned at a young age to saw. We had a very old sewing machine that you had to operate to swing with your hand. I just bought that kind of machine for my daughter's so they can learn it (my son is to little yet. almost eleven mouth)
I tried to make a pattern of a puppet to use a normal puppet pattern and a Ernie pattern that I made of a erniedoll I bought in the shop ( My daughters yelling I couldn't do that) I almost succeed but I wasn't satisfied, the mouth wasn't like a Muppet mouth, I couldn't get the wright shape mouth head......

And a few weeks ago I found something on the net of foambuilding.. and I knew at last I found it that is the way to make gompie.
I'll allready found both links to make a covering but thanks........

I don't have a lot of money to spent for the puppets. Here on the market I found a man who will give a lot of his leftovers from the foam in every size you can think of........ We only have to get it out of his store 40 km away.

I need a book that helps me to make the puppet how I can put that nose or that cheek I want in the puppet of my own. I don't want to make 4 of the same puppets with different hair and eyes and is still the same as the rest. Every puppet has his own shape nose etc etc

A dvd won't work because I'm a mum of 3 (2 girls and a little boy) I need when I have a minut time to work on the puppet I can look into a book and put it away whem something happed. (and it will if you do something for yourself) Maybe later but not now.

Is the foambook explaining how to make everything (I hope you still understand me) are the picture clear.. I looked into the books I can see that I want them all three but I can't. I think the foambook can help me to learn the process of building. Am I wright?

Then The Foam Book is just the right thing for you. It does describe how to do all of the building things, but still allows you to be very creative. It doesn't offer patterns, more like hints and ideas.

The Puppet Mania book is more along the lines of set instructions and patterns.

gompie, its sound like you already have a good idea how to put fabric on a puupet its the foam building that gives you a challenge.  The foam book should work well for you.

gompie, its sound like you already have a good idea how to put fabric on a puppet its the foam building that gives you a challenge.  The foam book should work well for you.

Yes you are wright I have an idea how to put fabric on a puppet and I have seen and printed the fabric tutorial of mazzle.com and project puppet.com.
I think the only thing I have to do is to get the money somewhere and order the book............. And in the meantime I can try to work with the foam and feel what it does and see how I can shape it to my ideas.

I have an another question the puppeteers use antron/muppet fleece. I don't know if I can get it here and I saw it is pricey. In Holland you have a lot of markets where they sell materials (I hope that's the English word for it, I mean the fabrics) for very low prices. Is there somewhere a way that I can get samples of the muppet fleece so I can try to find it on the market here.
Or what I can use in stead of it.

(it's funny when I post what I saying in a second it is 8 hours earlier, here the time is 8.04 pm)