LS5603 - Picture Book 3: Eloise by Kay Thompson

A book for precocious adults

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thompson, Kay. Eloise. Ill. Hilary Knight. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955. ISBN 0-671-22350-X

2.     PLOT SUMMARY

Eloise is a precocious six-year-old who lives in the Hotel Plaza. She lives with her nanny, her dog, and her turtle.  The book describes a day in the life of Eloise and her mischievous antics.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Eloise’s voice is very strong throughout the whole book. She imitates her Nanny’s English accent (“Eloise you cawn’t”) and ads the phrase “for Lord’s sake” at the end of many phrases, something she must have picked up from her Nanny as well. There is not a single period in the entire book; it is one long run-on sentence as the book follows Eloise’s never-ending train of thought.

Honestly, this book feels like it is a better read as an adult than a child. Children will appreciate the drawings, the mischief Eloise gets into, and the portrayal of her vivid imagination. For adults though, this book is so much more. It’s a very lonely story about a child with absent parents—her mother is too busy in Europe visiting Coco Chanel to see her daughter—and a nanny who cannot keep up with the child. As a result, Eloise acts out for attention, enjoying games like hitting all the doors in a hallway with a stick, and there is no authority figure to tell her to stop.

The illustrations skip around the page, much like the character Eloise does. There are only three colors in the whole book: black, white, and red. Even with this simple color palette, Knight expresses the range of Eloise’s capers and her vivid imagination; for instance, all things that happen in her imagination are drawn in red instead of black, which let’s Knight create fantastical drawings from Eloise’s imagination

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

#5 on the 1956 Publishers Weekly bestseller’s list in the USA

Publishers Weekly: “In the history of book properties, brands and licensing, Kay Thompson's Eloise, first published in 1955, stands as a prototype for success.”

Children’s Book List: “Eloise’s personal mandate is ‘Getting bored is not allowed,’ so she fills her days to the brim with wild adventures and self-imposed responsibilities.”  Note: Eloise was first published in 1955, so it’s very hard to find reviews on it. However, it has been well-received through the ages, with over two million copies sold since its first publication.  It has made many lists on Children’s Book List as a recommended book for children.

5.     CONNECTIONS

Books where the main character has their imagination illustrated:

• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson ISBN 0064430227
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak ISBN 0064431781

 Books that are children’s books but are really meant for adults too:

• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery ISBN 0786275391
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ISBN 0060256656

 Activity: Routines

What daily routines does the reader have? Write down a list. Eloise makes sure she is never bored. What do the readers do to stay busy and stave away boredom? Have the young readers illustrate their answers.

Further reading on routines and daily life:

• The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton ISBN 0671449028
• I am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed by Lauren Child ISBN 0763629707
• I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer ISBN 0307119750