School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 4 Up-Award-winning author and illustrator Bryan has combined his love of art and poetry in this captivating and beautifully designed book. True to the subtitle, Bryan explores puppets made from found objects, including the beach glass, old bottles, weathered wood, and pieces of fishing net, that he has collected on the beaches near his home on Little Cranberry Island, ME. Where others see debris, Bryan sees a treasure of stories. Using paint, glue, and string, he crafts the characters of folklore and weaves his poetry around them. Threads of African folktales are infused with the spirit of these puppets. In two-page spreads, photographer Hannon provides both full-page and close-ups of each of the more than 30 puppets created by Bryan. The puppets are about two feet tall, and they are dressed in the colors and shapes of the natural "found treasures." Bryan deftly uses these objects to create characters that speak in well-crafted, first-person narrative poems. String becomes the spider web woven by Anansi the trickster; wishbones become the moustache of Natambu, Man of Destiny; and sea glass, shells, and starfish embellish Lubangi, Born of Water. Traditional African themes abound as the characters introduce themselves through their poems, and readers are invited into the world of puppets and poetry. Bryan has truly created a book for all to treasure.— Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY

ALA Booklist (Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Noted storyteller and artist Bryan has walked the shoreline of Little Cranberry Island in Maine, where he has lived for years, collecting treasures a glass, driftwood, fishing nets, crab claws, doorknobs at he uses to fashion puppets. Bryan introduces more than three dozen named creations in poems and stunning full-color photographs. For example, the puppet Kwesi: "Stew bones fashioned for a trunk, / Rib bones for a tusk; / Shoulder bones, my perfect ears, / Opal eyes a must / . . . I'll journey now to Africa / A proper elephant." The poetry works well to clarify the details of each marionette, and Entel's crisp photographs provide both full-body and close-up views for each. In an afterword, Nikki Giovanni contributes a poem about the creature Bryan constructed for her. Three puppets intentionally lack poems; Bryan encourages readers to compose their own. This makes a perfect companion to Bryan's autobiography, Words to My Life's Song (2009), or inspiration for a summer craft project.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

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.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Bryan (Can-t Scare Me!) shows off another side of his artistry in this enchanting photographic tour of more than 30 puppets he has fashioned out of the flotsam and jetsam he finds on the beach around his Maine island studio. Sticks and bleached bones are fashioned into heads and bodies, scraps of old clothing become long robes, and frayed rope and mops become hair. Gaunt, angular, and haunting, there-s nothing toylike about Bryan-s creations. They could be sorcerers or shamans-or they might be found leaning against the bar of the cantina in Star Wars.