Picture Books: Eloise by Kay Thompson

Thompson, Kay. 1955. Eloise. Ill. by Hilary Knight. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 067122350X


Summary

Eloise  is a classic tale of six year old girl who lives at The Plaza Hotel. The reader is taken through her everyday life, from learning about her pets and dolls, to living through her antics with her Nanny, tutor, and other hotel employees. Eloise shows all the different places she travels through the hotel, and all the mischief that is made. The story demonstrates what life is like for a wealthy child being raised by a nanny and hotel staff.

Analysis

Eloise follows no standard plot line. It is an account of Eloise's daily life, mostly in chronological order, but does not include any sort of problem and solution. The reader quickly realizes that there are no periods to end sentences. The lack of punctuation creates confusion as thoughts change throughout the story.

Language plays an important role. First, the author wrote words like bawth, cawn't, and rawther, along with French dialect to help the reader grasp the accents. Also, Eloise mentions that her Nanny "always says everything three times." Throughout the story, references to the Nanny usually include words repeated three times.

Eloise's behavior is crucial in the story line. The adults use words like "nuisance" and are described as being "ready to go home" after spending time with her. The reader is able to sense her inability to sit still as she jumps from place to place...riding the elevator through several floors, running around the caterers, bouncing between banquet rooms and ballrooms, playing in the men's room.

Eloise's mother is never physically with her. The story alludes to a boyfriend, mom's lawyer with whom she spends lots of time with in Virginia. The mother knows many important people in Eloise's eyes. She says that her nanny is her companion. There is no mention of a father.

Finally, Hilary Knight's illustrations really bring to life the shenanigans that Eloise participates in daily. Hand drawn works of art are published in black and white with varying hues of pink on each image. The details in the facial expressions on the characters help the reader understand how Eloise, the Nanny, the tutor, and all other hotel employees and guests truly feel as she goes about her day. Illustrations include content that would not be often found in picture books today, including images of adult beverages and smoking paraphernalia.

Personal Response

Eloise will not be going on my "favorite picture books" list. I found the lack of periods very confusing. Some of the content was inappropriate for children, including mentions of a "rendezvous room," fight nights, cigarettes, martinis, and beer. I think that her, spoiled, out of control behaviors set a bad example for children. I would not recommend the book for any kind of lesson.

Reviews 

"My first happy response to Eloise was entirely due to the brilliant, iconic images. That brazen, loose-limbed, deliciosly little girl monster is Hilary Knight at his best." — Maurice Sendak (artist and author)

Connections

Kann, Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. 2004. Pinkalicious. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060776390

O'Connor, Jane. 2005. Fancy Nancy. Ill. by Robin Preiss Glasser. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060542098