Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups

I'm willing to concede that the charm of this book is more suited to the decade it was written in but it failed to charm me. I found it quite irritating.

A fun book for kids, though for me I couldn't stop thinking that Eloise might need some Valium for her ADD.

Eloise is a precocious little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The story follows Eloise though the adventures (and misadventures) of her life in the Plaza; a typical day includes everything from ordering a single raisin from room service to watching the debutantes “prancing

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around.” Thompson perfectly captures the eager, breathless, non-stop chattering of a young child telling someone about their day. The illustrations done in black, white and pink are charming and full of little details that children will love to explore. This book is a good fit for early readers, who will enjoy following along and laughing at Eloise’s exploits.

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Eloise truly captures the spirit of childhood. I've never known a young girl to read this and not see herself in Eloise, and imagine herself as a "city child" living at the Plaza. It really captivates and encourages the imagination. This is a perfect book for, honestly, any age. I read it to my 18

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month old and she likes it, and I sincerely love it too. It is absolutely wonderful to read aloud, the cadence is perfect, and there are so many fun repetitions and "rawthers", it always gets a laugh. Just...perfect.

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I still remember being given this by my 2nd grade teacher and falling in love with Eloise and her magnificent life at the Plaza!

After the Herdmans (Worst Christmas Pageant Ever), Eloise is the first kid I ever really wanted to know. I laughed all the way through this one.

There is something unlikeable about Eloise, even though she is abso. adorable. I never read this book as a child, so my first exposure was when I was in my twenties (I think I read it for a children's fiction class in library school?). I initially felt very negatively about Eloise - she's entitled

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and a spoiled brat - there's no comeuppance or lesson about how good she has it compared to others. She just runs around the Plaza Hotel causing mischief and mayhem, getting away with it, not feeling sorry, and then starts all over again the next day.

Okay, I reread it just recently and I feel a lot more positively about her. I'm not sure why, though! The illustrations are absolutely vital to conveying the adorableness of Eloise - the text does not do her justice. Her face really shows her character - she's bored, she's grumpy, she's got a perpetual, "Yeah, I did that. So?" expression that is fabulous! She's sometimes sweet and loving and very childlike, while sometimes her face shows a maturity and an incongruous ironic adult humor. The limited color palette - pinks and blacks - is perfect for her. Most of all the illustrations convey the movement, the action, the lively spirit of Eloise - it's all very endearing.

The text is overlong and the author's insistance on three-times repetition is weird and distracting, but the basic story of Eloise and her life in the Plaza is a cute one.

So yes she is spoiled and entitled and sometimes annoying. But that's okay. I love her anyway!

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A little girl named Eloise lives in the Plaza Hotel and gets into lots of trouble.

The story of Eloise, a rich girl living with her Nanny in the Plaza, while her parents are away away on business.I liked the whole book but I especially liked the fold out elevator, it was fun to track her movements up and down.It is a very interactive book.

Henry James would want to study her. Queen Victoria would recognize her as an Equal. The New York Jets would want to have her on their side. Lewis Carroll would love her (once he got over the initial shock). She knows everything about The Plaza. She is interested in people when they are not boring.

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She has Inner Resources."If you take her home with you, you will always be glad you did. "

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As an only daughter of a single musician dad at her age, I was more than a bit of an Eloise. Madeline was always the more admirable character - maybe it was the structure, or the fact that she actually lived in France - but Eloise's hijinks seemed like the kind of thing that every 6-year-old would

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do, given the chance. She was Fancy Nancy, before Fancy Nancy. (Or maybe FN is Eloise trying to imitate Madeline - but that's another book review.) I like Eloise, because unlike a lot of kid's books these days (I thinking here of David Shannon's "No, David" in particular, and similar works), Eloise is unconventional and spunky throughout, and does NOT end up ultimately tamed by the adults around her. Do you think she grew up and became Auntie Mame?

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This is an all time favorite of mine. Eloise is a six year old little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Her mother is often away on business so Eloise is left with a nanny who takes care of her. Eloise is an extremely energetic little girl (as most six year olds are) with a very

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playful imagination. In this book she takes us through a typical day in her life and all the things she does, likes, dislikes, and the people she visits.
This book really is quite funny and extremely relatable. It is written with absolutely no punctuation so it reads in a rambling sort of way, like six year olds often talk. The kinds of things she does for fun and the mischief she gets into is very entertaining for young children to think about. It is rather long for a picture book so it could be broken up into two or three story times allowing children to predict what may happen tomorrow as well as remember what happened the day before.

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A hilarious view of life lived in grand scale from a not-so-grand little girl. Eloise describes her day-to-day routines in her funny style, imitating her nanny and innocently depicting her adventures at The Plaza. Eloise is precocious yet somewhat enigmatic. And her life is anything but boring.

This

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book would be an excellent read aloud and would lend itself well to a lesson on the importance of point-of-view.

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My heart goes out to little Eloise, living at the Plaza, with only an old nanny to care for her and really not much to do except get into mischief. Eloise may be more a book for grown ups than it is for kids, because we know where all her weird expressions and antics come from (they come from us,

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the grown ups) and we get the double standards exhibited by the adults interactions with and judgement of little Eloise. In fact, I'm not sure if there is much in these books for kids, unless they're at least 7 - 8 (not sure why the book is recommended to 3 year olds and over, even if my son rawther liked it ...) having gained some insight into the complicated world of adults.
Eloise does not have the pretensions to be cute, in fact the illustrations show her as a rather plain looking abandoned little six year old. She's unloved and without friends and the only world she seems to know is the superficial world of the rich guests of the Plaza hotel ... and the parallel world of the staff who cater to those guests. Her nanny, although perhaps tender with her, does not seem to do but the strict minimum (understandably) and Eloise is left to entertain herself in the rawther child unfriendly environment of the hotel hallways and lobby. Watching how she copes is touching, mostly sad but sometimes quite uplifting. She copies the adults she meets and sees and off and on tries to act like one, but her observations are chillingly earnest. The illustrations purvey the repugnance, irritation and sometimes amusement of the people that cross her path in the hotel. In Eloise's own words: "I'm a nuisance in the lobby Mr. Salomon said so He is the Manager". And yet he gracefully bows to her. There are some rare ones who seem to be fond of poor Eloise, such as Thomas at the Palm Court. They're "both rawther fond of talking ... " and "Thomas has a son in the Marines. " (Eloise probably knows way more personal details about the low ranking staff than the management does, that's just how "spoiled" she is) ...
As you can imagine, a hotel's a busy place, especially one like the Plaza with all the numerous events. Eloise tries to make herself useful and kills time "helping" the staff. "I have to help [our maid] put on those pillowcases or she'll never be through by 4 for Lord's sake". "I am all over the hotel Half the time I am lost" She says "Getting bored is not allowed", but she must struggle with boredom all the same. That's probably why Eloise has got quite a developed imagination. I wish the same could be said of adults sometimes, such as the ones among the reviewers who want to "give her some proper discipline" and see in the expression of that lonely little girl's independence only a sign of bad character and brattiness ...

Please don't be too harsh on Eloise, I truly believe she's doing her best to keep her wits in a cold, cruel world. Will she be fine? I don't know, but if so, it won't be thanks to her wealthy, absent mother, but thanks to the young busboy, the kind waiter and perhaps the random thoughtful guest at the Plaza.

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Imaginative and creative as well as very funny. The story about a girl who misbehaves so outrageously is fun.

Oh, man. This book is subtitled, "for Precocious Adults," which sums up the tone perfectly. A doesn't get the humor at all, but I was dying. As the parent of a *busy* little girl, it's hard not to find it hilarious.

This is an endearing book about a little girl living a mischievous life in the Plaza Hotel. There are some French phrases in it that would be fun for the children to learn about. Eloise also, has a wild imagination and it would be fun for students to come up with their own wild stories.

This is a sassy story about a will powered girl! This is a funny story to read to encourage hard work and ambition. THis should be used with caution though.

This was my favorite book as a child and I love it even more as a young adult. I like this book because there are so many fun things going on on each page (like the elevator map or the drawings of Eloise's imaginations). The writing in the book is interesting because it mimic's Eloise's busy

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personality. There is little punctuation so the reader is forced to read the page in one breath. This technique indicates how Eloise would talk and makes the story come alive. This book does not follow the normal formula for a plot, yet does not lose the reader's attention for a second. There is no explicit problem-resolution model. On the other hand, it is implied that Eloise is a hyperactive girl who feels trapped in her hotel with no other kids around and is just trying to find a way to stay busy. I like that this book deviates from the normal structure and is still successful. The message of this book is a bit ambiguous. Since it's geared more for adults, it may serve as a reminder of what it's like to be a young girl with a wild imagination. It could also work to make adults more thankful for their well-behaved children.

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Mixed feelings about this, and no idea when I read it. It's sad, and it's funny. Eloise is a brat, and she's resourceful and strong. It does help to know that it was originally not a children's book. (Read Kathryn's review for more info. and join us in the Children's Books group to discuss.)

My favorite children's book.

Oh to be Eloise.

Still cute! I bet there are people complaining in the comments about how spoiled and rude and out of control Eloise is. The fun was always in seeing a very naughty little girl doing things you'd never do! Though I am amused that the cover notes that the book is "for precocious grown-ups."

um... what a brat? Kidding (a little).

We bought as a gift but read first. Looks like reviews are either 1 star or 5 stars.