by Jane Day Rasmussen
Name: Heritage Collection Hand Puppets
Manufacturer: Ganz
Category:Pretend Play
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range:none given
Our tested age range: 6 months and up
Learning Components: Motor Skills, Creative Play
Price Value/Honeys: 
(what are Honeys?)
These puppets are really lots of fun – we started playing with the dog when our son Jake was about a year old. Even now (at 3 ½ years old) he asks almost daily for us to “play doggie.” I loved the toy so much that I bought the pig and cow for my twin nieces when they were about 6 months old.
Puppets provide visual stimulation for infants and encourage parent/child interaction with your toddler. Jake loves to be surprised with whatever antic doggie comes up with next. And if you get bored playing the same thing over and over again, a game of puppets is always a creative venture into the unknown. The twins can also play with each other – or if you’re a really talented parent of multiples – put one on each hand and play away!
The Heritage Collection Puppets by Ganz come in lots of different animals: panda, tiger, pig, dog, cow, monkey, lion, horse, elephant, frog, St. Bernard, alligator and cat. Each one is cuter than the next. I particularly like them because they have the whole body and not just a head. I don’t know why, but it seems better that way.
The puppets are about 11†tall and have moveable arms and head. They are made of a very soft material and wear well. I’ve thrown doggie in the laundry many a time and he comes out looking new. The hand opening is very generous, so even my husband can take a turn (and give me a rest!).
I found these puppets at our local toy store and it seems like there are plenty of places to buy them online too. I don’t want to recommend a site, because I didn’t see any sites that I’ve previously ordered from. The company’s website doesn’t have a lot of information about the puppets, or a way to find out which retailers carry them, but here is the link anyway. They retail for about $10 each – a great bargain in my opinion, so I rated them four honey pots.
Of course if you can’t find these, there are lots of other great puppets out there too – so the main thing I recommend is make sure you have a stock of them in your house!