Customer Reviews

Eloise in Moscow

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am so glad this book has come back into print. This was the only Eloise book I read as a kid; my mom got it at a discard sale from the public library in the late 70s, where they were getting rid of it because of its (no longer politically correct) cold war sentiments. That being said, I adored the book. As a four year-old, I had no idea of the political implications of the book. All I knew was that I wanted to be just like Eloise, and Moscow seemed like the most glamourous, exciting place I had ever heard of. Eloise's adventures in Moscow are hilarious and engaging; the illustrations are terrific with a wonderful attention to detail. The story and artwork combine to give a really vivid impression of 1950s Moscow, and I have to say even as an adult, I still wish I could visit there. Of course as an adult you get a whole different story from the book, it's an interesting commentary on American views of Russia during the cold war. Also, the guy that shadows Eloise throughout her trip and appears on each page can make a fun "Where's Waldo"-type game for kids reading (or being read to from) this book. One of my absolute favorites from childhood.

My girls and I love the Eloise series, this one included. The age group to understand this book is a bit older than the others, say 11 or 12. All the cold war references led to interesting discussions of the cold war and the failure of Communism.

On the light side this book reads very well out loud. It helps if you have a deep voice to say as the intra tourist guide "IS POSSIBLE TO SEE BOOK REVIEWS HERE." "IS NOT POSSIBLE TO HOLD BOOKS, BOOKS ARE SENT AFTER BOUGHT" (While not a quote from the book, it reads like it.)

The book's view of the world does feel dated. It's like reading a Cowboys vs Indian's book and having to explain that perhaps not all is as it appears. Russia is not what it was, but it's not the west yet.

The quality of the paper and the binding are excellent, it feels like it will last for multiple reading. There is a nice foldout of the Kremlin. Like all the Eloise books, the drawings are inked in one color, this one uses yellow to great effect. The paper jacket is an exact copy of the hard cover underneath which is great as the text on it is wonderful.

If you like the other Eloise books, you'll like this one.

This book is definitely a "thinking book" and may be too much for the younger kiddies. However, as a grown up fan of Eloise - I grew up loving the original Eloise book - I have to say that this book is a must have if you love Eloise! I definitely liked this book better than Eloise in Paris. It really captures the feelings of the Cold War age and makes me try to picture Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's actual trip. Kay Thompson sounds like she must've been an amazing individual. This book is especially valuable on a pseudo-historical level. VERY enjoyable. Beautiful art work as usual! Say YES YES YES to Eloise - she's simply marvelous!

Possibly the quirkiest of a quirky series, "Eloise in Moscow" is a delight. There is hardly a creature on earth more likely to confound early cold war Soviet society than Eloise, and here she runs roughshod over guides, interpreters, spies and everyone else whose job it is to see her safely around and out of Moscow. Skibbling down strange hallways, dancing in the snow with the babushkas or attempting to communicate in Russian ("Charge it, pajalsta, and thank you very much.") Eloise, as always, leaves us wanting more. Almost impossible to find before now, this is a must-have for Eloise fans.

As an Ex-Pat living in Moscow during 2001, I wanted a book to share with the little ones we know in the United States. This book is not only funny bit accurate. The middle pull out of the Kremlin is supurb and everyone who has received it from us has loved it. I have a copy of one myself so I can look back on my experiences living here and laugh at some of the same ones Eloise and I have had.

The Eloise books are treasures but this one is something more than the expected delightful romp through the world from the perspective of a precocious child. Pay close attention here and you'll find yourself reading what surely has to rank as one of the most perceptively realistic takes on what life was like in Cold War Moscow. Bread lines, censorship, spies everywhere, an unwelcoming land with cold, sterile cityscapes, and suspicion everywhere. `Bleak' is a good word for the culture Eloise encounters and Kay Thompson describes. So what is here is both another joyful trip out with our spunky six-year-old heroine, and a deceivingly focused presentation on how dreary Soviet life was fifty years ago. (And how lucky we in the west are to have the freedom and prosperity we do!)

Get out your woolies and fur hats, Eloise is going to Moscow! In the funniest of Eloise's many escapades, she travels to the Russia of the 1950s with Nanny, Winnie, and Skipperdee in tow. Apart from her usual hotel antics, including spying on the other guests and dinning on black caviar from the Caspian Sea, Eloise has many mischievous adventures at the Bolshoi Ballet, Red Square, and inside the Kremlin. While young children will not understand all the humor in this and other Eloise books, they certainly still love the outrageous heroine Eloise, who's expressions and intentions are so vividly portrayed by Hilary Knight's illustrations. Eloise in Moscow continues Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's tradition of hilarious books for precocious grown-ups.

Eloise is back and more mischevious than ever. This time Eloise, Nanny, Weenie (her dog who looks like a cat), and Skipperdee (her turtle) are in Moscow. Eloise visits the ballet, and has a tour guide, but thinks someone is spying on her. "As you know there's no privacy in Moscow."

This is a must have for anyone's Eloise collection. So buy a copy, and charge it please.

We love Eloise in our house. Yes, she's not the best behaved little girl, but our daughter (6 y.o.) understands that and isn't using her as a role model. Eloise is the kind of book you don't mind reading over and over again. The language is beautiful, the drawings are amazing and you get to learn a little something about long ago Moscow! While the poetry of Eloise at the Plaza is a little more engaging, Eloise in Moscow is special with it's yellow color theme and view of the Kremlin. Besides, it's fun to track the "spy guy" on each page as he follows Eloise. All of the original Kay Thompson Eloise books (Plaza, Paris, & Moscow) are highly recommended by us.

Children will love the comical adventures of everyone's favorite six-year-old in Soviet Moscow.

Adults will appreciate the look into American-Soviet relations forty years ago, and Hilary Knight's wonderful drawings of it.

Why not five stars? Maybe by this fourth Eloise book, the whimsy is a little predictable by now.