Eloise: The Absolutely Essential 50th Anniversary Edition [Hardcover]

Kay Thompson (Author), Hilary Knight (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kay Thompson (1909-1998) was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and coach of many MGM musicals in the 1940s.

The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old that Miss Thompson put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson became a literary sensation when Eloise was published in 1955. The book has sold more than two million copies to date. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight created four more Eloise books, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth.

Hilary Knight, son of artist-writers Clayton Knight and Katharine Sturges, was educated at the Art Students League, where he studied with Reginald Marsh. Besides the Eloise books, Hilary Knight has illustrated more than fifty books for children, six of which he wrote himself.

He lives and works in New York City, not far from The Plaza Hotel.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 50 Anv edition (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416908234
• ISBN-13: 978-1416908234
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #731,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN absolute necessity for the Eloise lover, August 9, 2007

By 

CMD "C" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eloise: The Absolutely Essential 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my granddaughter, and almost couldn't give it to her because I wanted to keep it for myself! It has the traditional Eloise stories, which are great, but the real jewel here is the back section of the book. In this section you'll find photos of many of the Eloise products through the years, and a lovely history of the little girl and how she grew to be America's most precocious, most lovable six year old.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An original..., January 9, 2007

By 

R. Mittleman "book gran" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eloise: The Absolutely Essential 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I loved the original Eloise and was so happy to be able to share it with my granddaughter. She also loves Eloise. It's nice to pass good reading experiences on.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, May 1, 2009

By 

Gustavo Coutinho "Bibliovideomusicphile" (Findlay, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eloise: The Absolutely Essential 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

This is a very very nice edition of the original Eloise book. My 5 yr old loves it. I feel like it's a pleasure to hold a beautiful book and read it to my little girl several times a week. I would recommend this ed over the one with three books in one specifically for that reason. It is very difficult to have to hold such an ungainly book and read it for such a long time. The Eloise stories take a while to get through. I personally prefer single book editions unless you are a collector. This is probably the nicest edition out there of this book. Well worth it.