About us
Turn kids into fantastic storytellers with Papaton Kids!
Papaton Kids, founded by Anna Ten in California, is on a mission to enchant young minds by weaving the magic of storytelling into captivating shadow puppet kits. Our belief is simple: every child should have the chance to express themselves, dream, and learn in a fun and engaging way. Each kit we create is a portal to a world of endless storytelling adventures, imagination and creativity.
My journey in the toy industry began when our daughter had trouble sleeping at bedtime, it could take us hours to get her to put her to sleep. One night we discovered that shadows created by a phone's flashlight made her really interested. We started making shadow puppets and telling stories, and I realized how this could help children struggling with bedtime routine and boost their creativity at the same time. Thus Papaton Shadow Theater kit appeared.
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At the core of the Papaton Shadow Theater lies the idea of healthy ways of using technology. In our products, a phone helps children in their active game, creating additional atmosphere, but not replacing it. Technology is part of our world and kids growing up with access to technology in a healthy way is something we believe to be a good thing and want to help parents realize that technology is not at all bad for a child if it’s used wisely.
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Quality is another important characteristic of our products. The glow in children’s eyes and parents’ joy as they give their kids our games as a gift – this is what we think about before going to press.
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Our first product, the Papaton Shadow Theater, won the hearts of thousands of kids and parents around the world. It comes with a colourful folding screen, a phone stand, a pack of stickers and 32 characters and props to enact four well-know fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise & The Hare and The Lion & The Mouse. The creative fun continues with a fifth story titled Once Upon a Time story through which kids create their own stories aided by additional included props and characters!
Free Mobile App to Create Real Theatricl Atmosphere: The accompanying app includes fairy tale scripts in 8 languages (Am. English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, Russian), original orchestral music, special effects and lights for the shows.
Papaton Shadow Theater kits are perfect for developing creativity and narrative storytelling skills, promotes active play and gives kids a unique theatrical experience.
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Free Mobile App to Create Real Theatricl Atmosphere: The accompanying app includes fairy tale scripts in 8 languages (Am. English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, Russian), original orchestral music, special effects and lights for the shows.
Papaton Shadow Theater kits are perfect for developing creativity and narrative storytelling skills, promotes active play and gives kids a unique theatrical experience.
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Award-Winning Excellence: Papaton Shadow Theater has won seven international awards:
- Best Creative Fun, Tillywig Awards (2019);
- Family Choice Awards (2020);
- Seal of Approval, the National Parenting Center (2020);
- Parents’ Choice Recommended, Parents’ Choice Foundation (2020);
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PAL Award, Play On Words (2021);
- The Toy Insider Winner, Top Summer Toys (2022);
- Astra Play Award, Pretend Play Category (2023);
- TAGIE Awards Nominee, Innovative Art and Design Visuals of the Year (2023).
Press about creative Papaton Shadow Theater Puppet kits:
- Papaton Shadow Theater kits were featured in USA Today as one of the hottest holiday toys.
- Featured in PHL17 as Spooky yet educational Halloween Toys.
- Endorsed by toy expert and speech-language pathologist Erika Cardamone on Fox 6 Milwaukee for boosting kids' creativity and storytelling skills.
- Included in the Toy Insider's Spring & Summer Toy Guide in 2022.
- Featured in Toy Insider as a "Toy That Helps Kids Become Storytellers".
- Named the best Holiday Toy for Boys aged 3 years old by Spruce 2023 Holiday Gift Guide.
- Highlighted in Mom Does Review for its ability to encourage creative play in kids.
- Featured in aNb Media, inc. "Papaton Shadow Theater Scores Top Marks with Customers Online".
- Creator of Papaton Shadow Theater kits Anna Ten shares insights into the creation of Papaton Shadow Theatre on Canvas Rebel.
- Featured in an article on Shoutout LA where Anna Ten, the creator of Papaton Shadow Theater kits discusses the journey of creating Papaton Shadow Theatre.
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We want you and your kids to fall in love with our Shadow Theater just the way we once fell in love with this idea! Let your children be creative, and you won’t believe how they will surprise you in the best way possible!
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And we’re not done yet – we've got big plans for the future.
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And we’re not done yet – we've got big plans for the future.
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Papaton LLC is an official supplier and seller of the Papaton Shadow Theater playset. All rights reserved.
