A Guide to the Best of Southern California : FOR KIDS : New Stars for the Puppet Show

THE WHIMSICAL glove puppets from Folkmanis amuse even the most die-hard puppet-poopers. A round of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with this soft, 9-inch-long, eight-legged creeper is more playful than scary.

All the puppets in the collection are worn with tight-fitting, stretchy gloves attached to their bellies, transforming the wearer’s fingers into the creature’s legs, which works much better than the traditional slopping around of fingers inside a hollow head. The grasshopper, butterfly, bunny, crab, bumblebee, octopus, ladybug and spider are perky and colorful but never cartoony. Prices range from $10 to $18.

Folkmanis glove puppets are sold at Imagine, 1001 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 395-9553; Missouri Trader, 2699 Beachwood Drive, Hollywood, (213) 465-4066, and Catch Our Rainbow, 3148 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, (213) 328-9358.