A/C, cats, and kids reading books. What's better on a summer day? There's also a "Waldo" hidden among the stacks; you can ask for more information at the desk.

Introducing: Gabriel

GABRIEL

Gabriel the Snail is happy. He's really happy. He loves surprises, plays hide-and-seek with little kids by ducking into and out of his shell, doesn't mind explaining why he sniffs things with his antennae or what makes him a "gastropod," and even keeps a sense of humor about occasionally ending up in the French regional cookbooks section.

He's also one of the most famous puppets at the Haunted. He gave an interview for local access television last year while helping out at the Iowa City Book Festival and has been known to make guest appearances at coffee shop poetry slams, the kids' table at family dinners, pride parades, and other colorful events. He does a really weird impersonation of Kermit the Frog for extra giggles - and Gabriel is all about giggles. His laugh spreads like a yawn, overtaking whole crowds and leaving them watering at the eyes and sighing joyfully.

Seriously, though, Gabriel's best day ever was the day his little cousins came to live with us. Dan, Mike, and Cass love it when Gabriel gets out their favorite toys - four strips of cloth in four different colors - and they all tie the strips on like headbands and pretend to be pizza-snarfing, unconventional weapon-wielding turtles. Personally, I don't get it, but their routine never fails to leave people in stitches, especially if they can get NICO the rat to put on RALPH's bathrobe and act like a more cynical version of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Kids these days, right? But I can't help laughing with them, even if I don't understand. Because they are just so incredibly happy, and the world needs more of that.

________________________________________________________________________

All Haunted Bookshop puppet profiles reflect the personal ideas and opinions of the Haunted Bookshop crew exclusively and, while the pictures of the puppets are copyright Folkmanis, Inc., none of these profiles are sponsored, endorsed, encouraged, or approved by Folkmanis, Inc.; they are strictly for the amusement of regular bookshop guests who have come to know how Haunted crew develop characters for puppets.

Introducing: Ralph

RALPH

So why do we carry Folkmanis puppets?

As with most Haunted Bookshop stories, this one has multiple beginnings. The main reason we carry the puppets is because, when toyshop legend Mark Gauger of The Fun Zone retired, he taught Nialle how to order puppets because she liked them so much. To back up, Nialle liked them so much because Nialle was awakened by a loud yell from Ralph the White Mouse approximately twenty years ago.

Nialle's sister, the infamous Meara, had gotten Ralph, the family's first Folkmanis puppet, from Mark Gauger at The Fun Zone and had already practiced quite a lot. Nialle doted on Meara and grew up wanting to be a Muppeteer, so naturally, Ralph's appearance at Nialle's bedside prompted delight rather than annoyance. (N.B., this was before Nialle started drinking coffee.)

So, to bring it back around, Nialle met Ralph because Meara got Ralph from Mark, from whom Nialle would later learn the toyshop biz. Small world, right? Wait, it gets better. As recently as three years ago, Nialle was stopped on the street by a woman who thought Nialle looked familiar:

"Aren't you Ralph's sister? I mean... I mean the sister of the girl who had that mouse puppet that used to ride the bus, the puppet's name was Ralph, this was a long time ago but I still have his business card...."

Nialle did an actual, unfeigned double take. "Ralph had business cards?"

"Didn't you know? Oh, was I not supposed to tell you?"

"No, it's cool," Nialle reassured her. "Actually I sort of remember that. Um - I think he lives in Cedar Rapids now, but I can tell him hi from you if you want."

The woman appeared to realize abruptly that weird anthropomorphizing sorts of things were going on, bade Nialle a hasty "Oh, that's okay, I just thought I'd say hello. Good to see you. Bye," and hurried off.

Nialle, however, never thinks it's weird to let puppets be people too. Therefore, Nialle strongly encourages folks who got their Folkmanis puppets at The Fun Zone or The Haunted Bookshop to share the puppets' stories. We'd like to know where everyone ended up, including all those brothers and sisters of Ralph (and his gray cousin, ALOYSIUS) who stayed with us for a while before going out to ride the buses and taunt the sleeping sisters of the world. Submit your puppet's story and, with your permission, we'll reprint it here!

...Starting with Ralph. Meara, dish us up some of Ralph's madcap hijinx, would you? Because to hear people talk around town, he went to the public library, Vortex, Fun Zone, the Co-Op, and a bunch of other cool places all the time. He could well write a 1990's sequel to Irving Weber's history of Iowa City series!

________________________________________________________________________

All Haunted Bookshop puppet profiles reflect the personal ideas and opinions of the Haunted Bookshop crew exclusively and, while the pictures of the puppets are copyright Folkmanis, Inc., none of these profiles are sponsored, endorsed, encouraged, or approved by Folkmanis, Inc.; they are strictly for the amusement of regular bookshop guests who have come to know how Haunted crew develop characters for puppets.

Introducing: Rosalind

We sell puppets. We're really into puppets. Not just any puppets, either. We carry Folkmanis puppets. We know from experience that they're safe and durable, because my first one is twenty years old now and still chattering away and pretending to sneeze to get out of awkward situations; we also know kids love them, because we do and we routinely see children lighting up at the sight of them. Perfect as baby gifts, storytime assistants, study buddies (no joke; my rabbit and Ross' lobster helped us through classes), gag gifts, host presents, cube spice, personal icons, alter egos, flirtation devices, and more, these puppets include a wide range of animals and curious characters, and we're proud to offer over 50 species at any given time.

Also, when you are not looking, we practice with them. So that we can impress you when we introduce you to them. Seriously. It's very serious business.

It is actually true that, when we have carried a certain type of puppet for a time and have gotten practice with voicing and characterization of that particular type, we end up giving them names and personalities. So I thought I might introduce you to some of our favorites. ...One or two at a time, because it will take a while to list all the ones I like.

ROSALIND

Don't be fooled by the soft cloud of feathers and her skill as a storytime helper. She might be willing to take the role of Crow in a Native American legends storybook or Jeremy from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, but ask her to recite Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and you're likely to lose a finger. Worse, you might be subjected to her snarky renditions of other poems, such as "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" sung to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song.

Rosalind is one tough bird. Like all corvids, she's intelligent, listens with her head tilted to one side and memorizes at the same time, and loves to mock. She in particular loves to mock. A lot. Sometimes viciously.

The way we hear it is that, a long time ago, she and JULIET, a swan puppet, scrapped over a handsome short-eared owl puppet named ROMEO. Juliet and Romeo took off together (the swan and short-eared owl are no longer in active production, even), and Rosalind got seriously bitter. She'll tell you exactly what she thinks about the other birds in the house, from peacock JUNO to ILENE the hummingbird, and she has zero tolerance for what she calls "the culturally embedded assumptions about dark-plumaged birds," "the indefensible use of cop-out phrases like 'unconventional beauty' or 'interesting perspective," or the use of the words "dark," "soul," "tears," or "dove" in poetry, especially the rhymed and metered kind.

Underneath the razor talons and beak, though, Rosalind is a sensitive companion, quick to defend her close friends and quicker to playful exchanges of wit, and if you can gain her trust, her feathers are soft as a newborn chick's down and her nodding chuckle sweeter than loveliest of loon cries - if you're in to sort of Mae West-sounding chuckles.

________________________________________________________________________

All Haunted Bookshop puppet profiles reflect the personal ideas and opinions of the Haunted Bookshop crew exclusively and, while the pictures of the puppets are copyright Folkmanis, Inc., none of these profiles are sponsored, endorsed, encouraged, or approved by Folkmanis, Inc.; they are strictly for the amusement of regular bookshop guests who have come to know how Haunted crew develop characters for puppets.