Customer Reviews

Eloise Takes a Bawth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is nothing so refreshing, so enlivening, or inviting, there is nothing so delicious as a bawth. Eloise, that irrepressible and precocious nymph, just about sinks the Plaza Hotel as she splawshes, dives, plays and swims in the tub, tub, tub of her penthouse bawthroom. Drips, drops, leaks, and waterfalls begin to spout all over the building, and the manager, Mr Salomone is beside himself as he watches all his hard work on the Venetian Masked Ball, to be held that very evening in the Grand Ballroom, turn wet, soggy, and almost float away. "ELOISE/thanks to you/the Plaza's through through through/flooded floor to floor/stem to stern/door to door/The Venetain ball's a bust/Come down with me/I want you to see/the mess you've made!" But has Eloise's bawthtub antics really ruined the ball? No, of course not. In her own inimitable way, she's actually saved the day, and the Venetian Masked Ball turns out to be the sensation of the social season..... Written in the early sixties, though never published, Kay Thompson's Eloise Takes A Bawth finally makes its long-awaited debut with the help of playwright Mart Crowley and the stunning and imaginative artwork of her long-time collaborator, Hilary Knight. Ms Thompson's engaging and lyrical text is filled with her trademark energy and wit. But it's Mr Knight's captivating artwork that really steals the show. Each bold and busy pen and ink illustration is rich in subtle color, brilliant, eye-catching detail, and marvelous facial expressions, and youngsters will want to linger and explore every inch of each fun-filled page. Especially noteworthy is a dazzling four page fold-out of the masked ball in all its New York, social scene glory, and a creative and playful look behind the walls, at the Plaza's intricate plumbing system. Perfect for kids from 4 to 94, Eloise Takes A Bawth is a veritable feast for the eyes and ears, and a treasured masterpiece to read and share with friends and family now, and future generations in the years to come. "Now Eloise's forty-year bawth is finally drawn. Soak away."

After 40 years of being locked up in the vault of the wonderfully gifted and eccentric Kay Thompson, could this book possibly live up to the expectation and hype surrounding it's long awaited release?? The answer is a resounding yes!!!

There is no character in literature quite like Eloise - so completely alive with imagination and spunk! In Eloise Takes a Bawth, Eloise returns to form, causing mischief and mayhem throughout the Plaza. While Mr. Salomone and the rest of the Plaza staff are occupied with preparation for the upcoming Venetian Ball, Nanny coaxes Eloise into taking a bawth. The results are uniquely Eloise. She ends up flooding the Plaza and making Mr. Salomone & staff frantic, desperately trying to save the Ball. Of course, her antics only make the Ball that much better and more authentic, literally recreating Venice in the ballroom.

Bawth is truly Hilary Knight's day of reckoning. No longer under Thompson's controlling thumb, his drawings take on a life of their own to absolutely glorious results. The pictures, particularly of the Ball, are magnificent. His color choices, particularly his judicious use of blue, are inspired. It's been said that Thompson pulled Bawth's original publication because she wasn't completely satisfied with the story. The current version, published with fine-tuning from Mart Crowley, is admittedly not the strongest of Eloise stories. I wondered if the ending was more Crowley than Thompson. However, Knight's drawings really bring Bawth to a completely different level. With two fold out scenes, the book is really an artistic achievement of its own. Just wait til you open the scene of the Ball, underwater and in full swing!

Eloise Takes a Bawth is an absolute delight! For all those who've waited years and years for this, it does not disappoint. It's great for adults and children alike, whether you are a diehard fan or newbie...trust me, you'll be diehard soon enough. A great book to read aloud to kids, particularly if you're fond of the Nanny's British accent. I give 4 stars to this only because nothing compares to the original introduction to Eloise. Thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless!

Eloise does nothing by half, and when it is time for her to take a bath, she takes the bath to end all baths. There's to be a Venetian Masked Ball, in the Plaza Hotel, and when s mysterious drip begins to drip, no one thinks to see what Eloise is up to. The Plaza Hotel has sprung a leak, and the Ball is in danger, but nothing stops the irrepressible Eloise!

This is the fifth and final Eloise book - completed for publication in 1964, the book fell afoul of Kay Thompson's decision to take her books out of print. It wasn't until 2002 that the book finally made it into print! But, it was worth the wait. This is another very funny Eloise book, with Hilary Knight's interesting (Dr. Seuss-like) illustrations. My little reader liked Eloise's antics, and I enjoyed reading the book to her. It's so very nice that this book finally made it into print, as it is a great addition to the Eloise library.

Eloise Takes a Bawth is a wonderful book by Kay Thompson lovingly presented to us nearly forty years after Kay wrote it; it was not published when Kay initially wrote it. However, I can assure you that this book was more than worth the wait! Mart Crowley has added some to the story; but the rambunctious yet very adorable flavor of Kay Thompson's Eloise remains every bit as bright. Indeed, Eloise, who lives with her Nanny "on the tip top floor" of New York's Plaza Hotel, is back with a bath time story that is cute, funny, and always entertaining for kids and grown-ups alike! This is a wonderful book for you to read along with just about any young child. In addition, Hilary Knight's illustrations alone are magnificent; I was very impressed. The story moves along nicely, too.

The action starts when it's time for Eloise to get ready for a bath. She proceeds to fill the bathtub all the way up to the brim and then some so that some water begins to overflow onto the floor of the bathroom! What Eloise and her Nanny don't know is that the bathtub water is leaking all the way down to the Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom where Mr. Salomone, the manager, is meticulously planning the Venetian Masked Ball for that evening. The water leak, of course, causes a crisis for Salomone and the staff and exactly how the problem gets resolved is revealed very creatively in this book. There are very elaborate illustrations including larger pages of drawings that unfold to reveal beautiful, memorable artistic skill and lots of imagination.

I love how Thompson and Mart Crawley breathe so much life into Eloise. At bath time she has so many wonderful fantasies that just about any child will be able to identify with! Eloise decides she must give two of her most precious toys a bath right along with her; and before she gets into the bathtub she has to pose in the mirror for fun. The minute Eloise gets into the tub, her imagination runs wild! It all reminds me of my own childhood fantasies and the fun I would have playing in the bathtub.

Eloise Takes a Bawth may not completely measure up to the original Eloise book; but it does come pretty close. Indeed, I highly recommend this book. You will have a great time reading it to young children, too. Keep it close by even after you read it; this is one book you'll want to read and enjoy over and over again!

Have read all the Eloise Books. Purchased this one as a give. I think the illustrations in this one are the best in the original series.

I have been a fan of Eloise since childhood when I read the original "Eloise" and "Eloise in Paris", but I did not get around to reading this more recently published "Eloise" book until this week. I was a little hesitant about the book knowing that it came out only in the last few years; even though the author wrote the story and worked with the illustrator many years ago, I was still concerned that it might be a little bit thin compared to the earlier, detail-laden Eloise books. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even though the book focuses only on one activity of Eloise - her taking a bath in her suite at the Plaza Hotel and overfilling the tub, which begins to leak through the Plaza's walls and ceilings at the same time preparations for a grand Venetian ball are in full swing - it's definitely on a par with the earlier books.

Hilary Knight's illustrations are the real star of the show here. The story is good but because it's fairly short, the book would have been much more bland without the many layers of detail going on in the pictures. Knight deftly portrays both the realism of Eloise struggling with fancy old taps in her fancy old bawthroom as leaks sprout on the floors below, and the imaginative as Eloise pictures herself racing a speedboat over the water flooding her tub. Knight's portrait of the harried hotel manager worrying about the leak problem while surrounded by a passel of his equally worried staff made me laugh out loud, as he perfectly captured how such people would look (and at many grand old hotels, still DO look) in such a situation.

I won't go on and on about whether Eloise is a good role model for kids, as kids will either "get" that the story is supposed to be a fantasy or they won't, and everybody knows by now (or should know) that she is somewhere between Strewelpeter and Calvin from "Calvin and Hobbes" in terms of realism. But I did note that this story might be easier to read to a younger child because a bathtime disaster is much easier to follow and within the ken of ordinary experience than, say, Eloise jaunting around various foreign locations. I think this is a great addition for any adult or child who is already an Eloise fan as well.

I grew up with Eloise - I was 6 when she appeared. My own kids as well as their friends have been charmed while the adults had a great time with all the tongue in cheek! So glad this book was published later than the others. Kay Thompson lives on with her alter ego, Eloise and thanks to Hilary Knight for the classic illustrations!

Eloise is always a good read. This is a good new addition to an old series. It stays faithful to the series while adding some great new twists.

Our granddaughter is quite an Eloise fan. She enjoyed receiving this book. It arrived quickly and in good shape. Thank you!

About a little girl(Eloise), who is forced into taking a bath, in order to be clean for the Grand Ball. She spends a lot of time in the bawth, pretending to be a boat racer, a skier, and a surfer. She keeps filling the water up, and ends up flooding the whole bathroom. Her room happend to be just above the Ball room. Everyone at the ball is wondering how water is getting all over the place. They all think that one of the hotel's pipes has sprung a leak. Her father, one of the people who are important at the ball, comes up to her room to get her, and realizes she was causing all the water to be in the ball room. First she is in trouble, but then her father looks at what has happend to the Ball Room. It is a pretty good story with an ironic ending.