Eloise

Written by Kay Thompson

Illustrated by Hilary Knight

1. Bibliography

Thompson, Kay. Eloise. Ill. by Kay Thompson. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955. ISBN: 978-0-671-22350-2

2. Plot Summary

Eloise is the story of an outgoing and energetic six year old girl who lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York City.  She lives on the top floor with her nanny called Nanny, who likes to repeat words three times.  She also has a pet dog named Weenie, and a turtle named Skipperdee.  Eloise loves to play pretend and goes on adventures all over the hotel. She visits the lobby every day to check the Mail Desk for stamps, to make phone calls, and to say hello to the hotel manager Mr. Salomone, who thinks she is a nuisance.  She plays on the elevators, makes lots of noise in the hallways, and explores the many ballrooms and meeting rooms in the hotel.  She is fun and exciting and often gets onto the hotel staff’s nerves, but she never gets in trouble. 

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3. Critical Review

Eloise is written from the point of view of a six year old named Eloise and words are written as if she was speaking.  Eloise likes to talk and the writer does not use periods at the end of the sentences, which give the reader the impression that Eloise is talking very fast and jumping from one subject to the next.  The words flow of the tongue and are often spelled like a young child would pronounce them.  The writer’s unique way of writing makes you feel as if Eloise is standing next to you talking very fast fast fast, as Nanny might say, in your ear. 

The illustrator helps the reader to better understand all the interesting elements that are happening in the story.  The illustrations are in black, white, red and sometimes pink.  The writer describes the story from Eloise’s point of view but the illustrator often shows what is really happening such as the emotions of the hotel staff when Eloise bothers them in the lobby.  When Eloise is playing pretend the illustrator draws what Eloise is imagining in her mind in red ink. The pictures are exquisite and sometimes comical and really add to Eloise’s character and show the reader the real story behind her stories.

Eloise is a delightful book that children of all ages will enjoy.  Eloise has a reading level of 5.4 or fifth grade and might be too hard for young readers to read on their own.  The big words, omission of periods and the length of the story also might create challenges for beginning readers.  Eloise explains in the book that she does not see her mother very often and she lives alone with her nanny.  The concept of living alone away from ones parents might be a sad and difficult subject for some children to grasp.  Even though Eloise lives alone, she still has her nanny, pets, and hotel friends.  This is a story about friendship, a little bit of mischief, and using your imagination.

4. Review Excerpts

Books In Print: "Ooooooo....I just love Eloise! Thank you, Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight. You're the bestest!" -- Judy Blume

Books in Print: "My first happy response to Eloise was entirely due to the brilliant, iconic images. That brazen, loose-limbed, deliciously little girl monster is Hilary Knight at his best." -- Maurice Sendak

New York Times: “Eloise is one of the most recognizable characters in children’s literature.”

Time: “She is a magnificent moppet.”

5. Connections

Imagine what it would be like to live with a nanny in a hotel like Eloise.  Discuss the good and bad advantages to this and invite the children to share their own experience with hotels.  Explain how many of the activities Eloise likes to do would not normally be allowed in a hotel. 

Read one of the following books about other adventurous and outgoing little girls and compare and contrast the main character to Eloise. 

Fancy Nancy by Jane O’ Conner  ISBN: 978-0060542092

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans ISBN: 978-0140564396

Olivia by Ian Falconer ISBN: 978-0689829536

Talk about Eloise’s daily routine.  Make a list of some of the things Eloise likes to do after waking up and what she does throughout the day.  Let the students share what they do to get ready for school in the morning.  Ask the students if their daily schedule is as busy as Eloise’s schedule.