Features:

  • Polyester
  • FRIENDLY DRAGON PUPPET: Melissa & Doug’s dragon puppet with hand rod is a friendly puppet that is easy to use and durable.
  • LEFT OR RIGHT HAND USE: This puppet with hand rod is easy to manipulate. Children who are left- or right-handed can use one hand to move the puppet’s mouth and facial expressions, along with other gestures with the detachable wooden rod.
  • STIMULATES CREATIVITY: Puppets inspire countless creative stories and are terrific for developing self-confidence, motor skills, hand-eye coordination, communication skills, parent-child bonding, and so much more.
  • GREAT GIFT FOR AGES 3 AND UP: The Smoulder the Dragon Puppet with Detachable Wooden Rod makes an ideal gift for kids ages 3 and up. Add the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Puppet Theater to round out the hands-on, screen-free, puppet play experience.
  • “THE GOLD STANDARD IN CHILDHOOD PLAY”: For more than 30 years, Melissa & Doug has created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that NBC News calls “the gold standard in early childhood play.”
  • 100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE: We design every toy to the highest-quality standards, and to nurture minds and hearts. If your child is not inspired, give us a call and we'll make it right. Our phone number is on every product!
Awesome products, ridiculously under priced.

I've purchased, I think, eight or nine of these puppets for my autistic son, plus their kit for making his own puppet. For the first two or three that we received I truly had the thought, "Man, we must have gotten lucky and the person making this one was having a good day!" but have now come to see that every puppet is is made on a good day. They look really cool, are the perfect size, are made really well. I'm one of those people that believes that you get what you pay for so am still a little queasy when paying so little, but in this case you just simply get much more than you pay for. I swear that that's true. I think it's important to try and put honest pros and cons in the reviews, but despite trying really hard I can't come up with any cons. They are packaged well, shipped quickly, beautiful, high quality products...man, I can't really find anything to criticize. I feel really good every time I give them my money and I can't imagine ordering from another company that might compete with Melissa and Doug's on anything comparable. (Edit: Any time I read such a one sided review I assume that it was probably written by someone from the company selling the product. I'm not associated with this company in any way beyond being a happy customer. Honest.) Dwayne

Fantastic Fun

We've now had Smoulder as a part of our family for almost six months, and we could not be more delighted. He was a gift for my three year old daughter, but everyone who comes over (including Mom and Dad) ends up picking him up. He is constructed of a very soft green plush and is very comfortable and cuddly, but what really makes him spectacular are his iridescent wings and stomach, which I did not expect. He really looks terrific, and unlike some of our other career-oriented puppets (police officer, doctor), it is impossible to tell a mundane story about him. I love to see my daughter's creativity sparked by such an engaging toy. It might be important to note that although he is a dragon, he is the least frightening dragon available. My daughter is a bit of a scaredy-cat, but she was never remotely alarmed by Smoulder's appearance, which is friendly and comical. The mouth is simple enough that she can work it, although she does prefer for others to "make him talk" while she orchestrates the story. I expect that will change as she gets older and her hands develop strength. He does include the stick to move one of his hands. It is attached by velcro and makes Smoulder much more expressive, but he has taken quite a bit of abuse in that area (being carried around by the stick, sometimes using the stick to flick him around and make him "fly") and the glue that holds the velcro to the wooden stick is beginning to come loose. I don't think it will be difficult to re-glue when it finally comes off, however. Overall, he is well constructed, beautifully designed, and a fantastic source of imaginative fun for the whole family. Many thanks to Melissa and Doug for providing so many quality toys to encourage creativity! Update: We've now had Smoulder for about a year and my daughter still loves him. She always introduces him to younger children who she thinks might fear him by saying, "Smoulder is a NICE dragon" while petting him. She's getting better (and more confident) about "making him talk" herself so she can play more independently with Smoulder. She even takes him to friends' houses and to the mall. The only caveat to poor Smoulder is his dowel didn't hold up to my daughter's rough play and it snapped at the handle. I had to remove the dowel for this reason because the edges were jagged and dangerous after it broke. I don't know how she did it (it happened while she was playing in her room) but I might imagine it could break if it was shoved very hard into the toy box (her puppets are not supposed to go in the toy box but I have found them in there) or if it was stepped on. It would be nice if Melissa and Doug sold replacement dowel rods so we could still move his hands as that is one of the things that makes him so cute. Also, if your child is potentially rough with his or her toys, careful with the rods - they are sharp when they break!

Well made, very cute, lots of fun

He's cute! His ears, antenna, wings, etc tend to fall backwards, so I made a few corrective stitches. Tacking his antenna to rear of his eyes, tacking a fold of ear near his head to his head, etc. I find him awkward to manipulate with my thumb under the jaw in traditional manner. I use him with a couple fingers down there. His stick for controlling a hand ends in velcro, you can insert it into a buttonhole on either arm and attach to matching velcro. I like that.

A Dragon-load of Fun!

I have two very spirited boys and they love their dragon puppet! Easy for small hands to manipulate. The felt is easy to wipe clean and the stitching is strong and holds up to rough play. The stick to direct the arm is interchangable (left or right handed) and can be completely removed. I have young children so the stick has been put up till they are older. I am confident that we will enjoy many years of fun with Smoulder. I will also be purchasing another puppet so that both boys will have a dragon. Great way to encourage pretend play and imagination! Love it!

Very well made, Happy with Purhcase

This puppet is so very cute. My husband is an amateur photographer and he does photo shoots with kids. Sometimes its hard to get the kids to sit still and focus on the camera. I bought this so that I can stand behind my husband and wave it around giving the kids something fun and interesting to look at. I was very impressed with the quality. When he is not in use at a photo shoot he hangs out in my sewing room with me. I occasionally like to play around and put on a mini puppet show for my husband and daughter, just to make them laugh and drive them nuts. Ha.

A lovely big friendly-looking dragon puppet

I really love this dragon puppet! The more I use it in story time sessions the more I love it. The children always seem to enjoy seeing it; and smile when I bring it out to them. They all want to say "hello" and stroke its funny nose or feel its wings. I use it especially while singing "Puff the Magic Dragon", to encourage the children, and their caregivers, to sing along with the lyrics. This green and purple dragon makes story time more magical, I think. It is such a friendly-looking lovable dragon! How could anyone not love it?!?

Ms. Sarah

In my house her name is ms. Sarah and only comes out if someone is sad or needs some prodding to do something. Possibly his favorite thing in the world, though only comes out for a few mins every other day. Wish I could give 6 stars. Movements are very Jim Henson like.

A friendly dragon

You will never be sorry when a Melissa and Doug puppet is a part of your family! Children’s imaginations rise to create interesting situations which will make you laugh!

Well made. Has lots of character

Everything I've gotten from Melissa & Doug has been good quality and interesting, and this puppet is no exception. It articulates very nicely. The design is fabulous, with more textures and contours than necessary. It looks pretty awesome in the photos, and it's even better in real life.

Friendly colorful dragon pal for kids of all ages

Bought three (so far) of these cute dragon puppet friends to give as gifts. One was a gift for a newborn - obviously too young to actually enjoy puppets at this point - but Smoulder is already a hit with the older children in the family. Another for a toddler that loves to carry him around with her like a doll. (Her parents removed the wooden dowel for now.) He's in the repertoire of stage puppets under the care and supervision of a grade school puppeteer. She says he's "very well behaved" and she loves his wings, moving him about as if he's flying. What a kick to have a cool dragon ally, always ready to support and protect you and make you laugh! He's got a sweet friendly face. Love Melissa and Doug puppets as they are simple, friendly, easy care, and inexpensive. The Melissa and Doug puppet theater is active here. Off the cuff monologues and mini plays are emerging all the time. Now there's talk of "writing" scenes and plays. This little puppet helps build confidence and coordination skills. An entertaining, educational and engaging puppet that helps get the creative communication juices flowing!

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