Eloise by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight61 pages
Published April 1969 by Simon and Schuster's Childrens
Source: my daughter
I feel a little bit like I cheated reading this for the read-a-thon but it counts for the You've Got Mail Challenge and I needed a quick read to sandwich in between other books during the read-a-thon.
Eloise is a six-year-old who lives in The Plaza hotel with Nanny; her dog that looks like a cat, Weenie, and her turtle, Skipperdee. To say that Eloise is a handful is an understatement. Eloise loves, loves, loves to ride the elevators and order room service. She simply cawn't, cawn't, cawn't go a day without adjusting the hotel's thermostats, or pulling out the fire houses, or opening all of the packages in the Package Room in search of one that might be for her. If she were you child, you'd be pulling your hair out. But since she's not, she's adorable.
Thompson captures the voice of a precocious six-year-old marvelously. Eloise skidders sticks along the wall, slomps in her skates and skibbles out of bed in the morning. As wonderful as the writing is, I can't imagine that Eloise would have been quite the success that it's been without Knight's drawings. We've got several of the Eloise books--they're on the shelf of books that I just have to keep in the hopes that someday I'll be able to snuggle up with a grand-daughter and Eloise.
I love Eloise! I haven't reread an Eloise book in years but your post makes me want to do so!
ReplyDeleteNice. I like to read blurbs about books that I might never otherwise hear about. I might want this for my future granddaughter. Thanks
ReplyDeleteEloise sounds like me when I was 6! I'll have to check this book out soon. I hadn't really planned on reading it for the challenge, but it sounds like a nice read.
ReplyDeleteI always count children's books. Thought possibly short in pages and few in words, they often pack a bigger punch and they are still BOOKS. :)
ReplyDeleteEloise books are great!! Thanks for the fun memory, now I need to do some re-reads. LOL
ReplyDeletewould love to return to Eloise,Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've never read Eloise...they sound delightful and I hope that one day you will get to share them with a granddaughter!
ReplyDeleteThompson also qualifies for the You've Got Mail challenge...is it okay if I link your review? I definitely agree with you about Knight's illustrations...I just love the look he created for Eloise...even my youngest will comment on her outfit outlining all the details. I had the chance to see Knight on a panel at the LA Times book festival and was completely surprised...I assumed Hilary Knight was a woman...he was absolutely delightful:)
ReplyDeletei'm pathetic...i've never read eloise. i was more into amelia bedelia when i was a kiddo.
ReplyDeletethanks for the synopsis, though. at least now i have a working knowledge of the book! :)
ELOISE isn't cheating!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Eloise ... what a precocious child, doing all the things I'd like to do.
Eloise is delightful and is a great book for the read-a-thon!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry it's taken me so long to comment on this from the Flashback challenge link-up! I'm a HORRIBLE host for challenges, so massive apologies!
ReplyDeleteI really like the Eloise stories. I also only now say "ELL-oh-ease." When I was younger, I said "el-OYES."