Eloise

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

PLOT

Kay Thompson’s Eloise is the classic story of the precocious six-year old Eloise who lives at the Plaza Hotel. Eloise’s sense of fun and adventure cause her to skibble and skitter all over the hotel, getting into and out of scrapes. Eloise experiences very little adult supervision; this appeals to the six-year old in each of us who longs to break free and break rules just as Eloise does on a regular basis.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Eloise has long been considered a classic in children’s literature. Through her writing, Thompson portrays Eloise as a rambunctious, spirited, mischievous, and curious six-year old who experiences the freedom of an absent mother. Eloise, as portrayed, has a strong sense of self.

Thompson’s text is without punctuation. By not using punctuation Thompson seems to capture the essence of Eloise as she dashes from one mishap to another. However, the lack of punctuation can make reading this story aloud somewhat of a challenge, as it is difficult to find the cadence. This might be yet another way that Thompson tries to depict just who Eloise is - just when you think you have figured something out about this little girl, she shows another side to herself.

Hilary Knight’s drawings are simple, yet profound. He accurately captures Eloise in all her moods. By using a narrow color palette consisting of black, red, white, and shades thereof, Knight focuses attention on Eloise and her surroundings; the busyness in the pictures is all Eloise; she is not lost in a plethora of vibrant and overwhelming colors.

While Eloise is a fun and amusing character, the book does have shortcomings. At 65 pages long, Eloise is twice the length of a standard picture book. More than a few pages have well over 100 words on them, in small, cramped text. The average small child would have difficulty in sitting and listening to such a lengthy story, or in reading it independently.

Another shortcoming of Eloise is that the cultural references, both in the text and the graphics, would be lost on most children. The concept of living in a high-end hotel is foreign to children, as are many of the images connected with such a place. Eloise imitates her English nanny’s accent, using words such as ‘rawther’ and ‘cawn’t’, which do not resonate with children. Both the Plaza and English nanny fall into the realm of elitism, though Eloise’s precociousness overpowers these issues.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

I am torn as to how I feel about this book. It is not one that I particularly remember from my own childhood, but Eloise is a character with whom I am long familiar. I like the fun and spontaneity of Eloise, though at times, as I read the story, I thought, “What a brat.” Mostly, I feel sorry for what is essentially
a motherless child.

I read this book to my second grade class. They thought it was really funny, and loved the interaction between Eloise and her tutor. They had fun joining in as Eloise imitates the tutor. Unfortunately, they ‘rawther’ behaved like Eloise for the rest of the day.

I think that kids get the surface humor of a young child being mischievous, but probably not the deeper meanings of a child whose mother is absent, who spends her days seeking attention; only to find the love she needs from her nanny. 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Top 100 picture books SLJ 2009

CONNECTIONS

ü  Eloise could be grouped with other books about places in which people live. For example:

·      The Family Under the Bridge by Garth Williams and Natalie Savage Carlson

·      The House I Live In: at Home in America by Isadore Seltzer

ü  Arrange a study of books illustrated by Hilary Knight; examine how his illustrations have changed over time. Look for similarities to the Eloise books.

ü  Read all the Eloise books and hold a movie festival of Eloise movies.

ü  Study other strong girl figures in children’s picture books: Madeleine, Clementine, and Olivia, for example.