• Melissa & Doug
  • ENTERTAINING HAND PUPPETS FOR KIDS: The Melissa & Doug Safari Buddies Hand Puppets set includes 6 soft and cuddly hand puppets with a safari animal theme (elephant, a tiger, a parrot, a giraffe, a monkey and a zebra).
  • HIGH-QUALITY MATERIALS: Our puppets for kids feature brightly patterned, high-quality fabrics that are washable for easy clean-up. They are sized to fit children and most adults.
  • HELPS DEVELOPS MULTIPLE SKILLS: This puppet set is great for storytelling, motor skill development, practicing vocabulary, expressing emotions, and confidence-building. It’s an excellent option for encouraging hands-on, screen-free play.
  • GIFT FOR AGES 2 AND UP: The Safari Buddies Hand Puppets kit makes an ideal gift for kids ages 2 and up. Add the Melissa & Doug Zoo Friends Hand Puppet set to round out the 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.”

Doesn’t fit my rather large hand, but the wife and kids it seems to work fine...

Nice quality. Fun for my little nephew.

This is an absolutely adorable set of 6 plush puppets. A very good value. The package includes a monkey, giraffe, zebra, tucan, tiger, and elephant. Each animal has a super plush head, soft short fur, and black bead eyes (which appear to be very securely attached, but I wouldn't give them to a baby who puts things in their mouth as it could be a choking hazard). Each animal is about the same size and fits my 2.5 year old daughter's hands fine. Your thumb and pinkie fingers are supposed to fit into the puppet's arms (so that you can animate them), and the remaining center 3 fingers go into the head. My daughter's hands aren't quite big enough for that yet, but that's ok. Adult hands fit just fine inside as well. I love the safari theme. We have a few safari children's books at home so I started acting out the books with her and the puppets. I plan to use these to inspire her to make up our own stories and perhaps even use shipping boxes and recyclable materials around the house to make simple theater sets for her to extend her creativity. I like how the box also offers ideas of role play with your little one. The set comes displayed in a box that is pretty easy to wrap as a gift. It would be great if they thought of a way to make the box something that could convert more into a theater display. Overall I give this one 5 stars. I can't wait to play more with this set and my little one.

Screen-babies (2 & 3 yr-olds) really seem to enjoy this “retro” set of toys.

This is a set of 6 "safari animal" hand puppets. So perfect for ages 3-5. Our grandson enjoys going to the zoo and learning about all the animals. We gave him this set this afternoon and he was thrilled! Now we are making stories about what the animals think about, what they eat, how they like to play. The hand puppets themselves are of great quality, as are all of Melissa and Doug's toys. I think the puppets are a large size, on our grandson who just turned 3 the puppets hang down to his elbow. But that's OK - they fit me too! The colors are bright, the fabrics are soft, and the animals faces are very sweet. There are some suggestions on the back of the box - you can use the puppets to ask kids questions such as "tell me what it's like to be a kid!", " what do you like to eat?". There are also some suggestions for developing problem solving skills and using empathy and compassion. For instance " both the monkey and the parrot reach for the last banana at the same time - what should happen?" This is a lovely set to stimulate imagination. I'm going to combine it with art and work on coloring some scenery for the animals stories. We have so many Melissa and Doug toys and they have lasted for years.

The puppets are great and just as advertised. The kids will love putting on puppet shows with them.

Melissa and Doug have done it again! Another high quality fun toy! This set of hand puppets is great! Six colorful, soft, fuzzy puppets for kids to create an imaginary world of their own. My son can't stop playing with these. He loves making me and my husband put them on and play pretend with his other toys as well. They are a little small for adult hands and the arms on the puppets are too small to grasp or manipulate objects, but that's a minor quibble. They are a great size for kid hands. I like how Melissa and Doug put play suggestions on the back of the box to give the purchaser ideas on different educational games and activities to do with the puppets. It's great to have an old fashioned toy that let's kids use their imaginations and doesn't talk or light up or need batteries.

These puppets look good on Skype video when I am calling my grandchildren. I use a puppet to teach them about art and history. The puppets help hold their attention and I can act silly without being a silly grandma!