List Price: $24.95
Official URL: http://www.puppetshowbooks.com
Age Range: 3+ (small parts)
Rating:

The Diggity Dog Puppet Show Book is an interesting concept that combines the traditional story book with a puppet stage and simple puppet to tell the story. It includes the large puppet stage book that the story books fit into, a Diggity the Dog puppet, DVD with Lisa LeLeu (the creator) using the Diggity puppet to tell the “Let’s Go Camping” story, a “Get Dog Smart” story/coloring Book, and a small box of four crayons. It is all inside a plastic, open top carrying case with a nylon handle. The story books and coloring books are equipped with Velcro pieces on the backs that adhere to the puppet stage and can be switched out so that Diggity can tell all the stories.

QUALITY

The puppet stage is made of a hardback book binding material that holds up very well to wear and tear. Diggity the Dog’s puppet is a standard plush puppet that will fit most adults to just past the wrist area, with high quality sewn on eyes and nose and a cute hat on his head. The story book and coloring/story books are standard paperback quality.

THE STORY

The “Let’s Go Camping” story is an adorable story about Diggity and his brothers and sister on a camping adventure. At first, the boys don’t really want their little sister to go, but as the trip gets underway, they learn to appreciate her special skills and talents, and end up having a great time. Overall, it’s a great example of learning to accept someone who may be a little different than you are, and a standard “don’t judge a book by its cover” lesson.

The “Get Dog Smart” coloring and story book is a good educational tool to teach little ones about pet safety. It covers many aspects of how to treat a dog to prevent being bitten, such as never approaching a dog you don’t know and always asking an owner before petting his or her dog.

DVD

The DVD is the one shortcoming I find with this product. There are several different puppet show stories included on the disc, but the only stage/book in the package is Diggity. The recording is amateurish, featuring the creator, Lisa Le Leu searching for her puppet friends and then using the stages to tell the stories. While Lisa has great energy in her story telling, I think a parent or caregiver using the books to tell the stories would be much more entertaining for most children.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustrations are very bright and colorful, with a cartoonish quality. Each page has a Diggity body illustration on the right side that fits just beneath the puppet’s head on the “stage.” This results in the feeling that Diggity himself is telling the story. The coloring books are, of course, black and white, but the pictures are very distinct and large enough for kids just learning to stay in the lines to use.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE

This toy could easily be used in a preschool or early elementary setting, or just at home to teach dog bite safety. It is also a good example of learning to get along with others and being accepting of people.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

The concept of telling the stories with Diggity the puppet is an entertaining one for young kids. The built in puppet stage makes it easy to use and the Velcro feature and carrying case keeps all the parts together so you can pull it out again and again. This toy could even be used on the go to entertain your child.

BOTTOM LINE

While the puppet show book is a cute concept, I tend to avoid toys that try to include too much in their design. Most of the time, items that try to do a lot of different things don’t do any of them well. This puppet stage/story book is the exception to that rule. It is cute, easy to use and keep together, and makes it fun to tell and hear the story.