Review on 🦋 Revamp Your Puppet Show with the Folkmanis Monarch Cycle Reversible Puppet by David Causillas

Let me start by saying we have LOTS of these Folkmany dolls (and others). After pairing it with a butterfly chrysalis in our homeschool we thought based on the reviews and such it would be just perfect because how cool is it to have a morphing butterfly chrysalis?! / 5 star originality as well. The material is soft and big! The wings are flexible and soft, even my huge hands are very easy to adjust and play with. The details in the pattern of the wings and the eyes used, not to mention the little hair are so adorable. The puppet scene is pretty basic, but I liked the attention of the little hook that was added at the top so you can hang it like a real one if you want. The caterpillar stage is adorable too. Thick, stocky, but plain, with two sets of hair/whiskers at each end. The shape is really like a colorful ball, with no legs, but the pattern is recognizable, so I don't think most people will mind. The problem lies in the implementation of product transformations. The more I worked with him myself, the easier it became to transform as I had to learn how and where to put things. You can't just slip butterfly wings into a bag and expect it to close properly and without interference. There is absolutely no wiggle room with this item when it comes to folding and zipping it up. Luckily I had a son to test how easy it is to transform. He loved it! So he worked on it, but it was still quite difficult, and this kid's fine motor skills are quite developed, so it wasn't just that. It was a real struggle. In the end, I see the frustration of a child trying to change themselves and the frustration of a parent who is constantly being told to stop to do it themselves. Ideal for classrooms and nature centers, this product makes a fantastic teaching tool. But despite the fact that my son really liked this product, despite his disappointment with the conversions, I unfortunately went back because for the price, even for our use in the classroom, it just wasn't worth it. UPDATE: I ended up leaving because two months later the baby wouldn't stop talking/asking about him and we're studying life cycles, so I got pulled back in. I have to admit I'm glad I did because all the kids I've used it with since have loved it and parents keep asking where we got it for their kids. I think the morphing will definitely get easier once the doll breaks in a bit. The zip on this one is also better than the first one we ordered, so maybe that was part of the problem. There's no scope yet, the baby still needs help transforming, but this is a huge achievement. Upgrade to five stars!