Eloise Takes A Bawth (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mart Crowley (Author), Hilary Knight (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What's this--a new Eloise, never before seen or published? News doesn't get better than that. Kay Thompson first wrote Eloise Takes a Bawth in Italy in the 1960s with Hilary Knight and pal Mart Crowley; it has been marinating until now for a release with all-new drawings by Hilary Knight. Of course, this time Eloise is not in Moscow, not in Paris, she is simply in the bawth at home in the Plaza Hotel. With Eloise, though, nothing is simple. Perhaps especially the notion of taking a bath, where you have to "skibble into the bathroom and take off all your clothes," then strike a pose and look in the mirror, and splawsh, and sing, and bathe with turtle Skipperdee and dog Weenie. And pretend to be the "loosest cannonball in all the Caribbean" and "Little Miss Mermaid but let's keep that between us." But what's this? Could Eloise's bathtime shenanigans be causing a drip that "has begun to drop within the walls and hallowed halls of the stately old Plaza?" Drenching the elite at the Venetian Masked Ball in the Grawnd Ballroom, no less? Fabulously decadent scenes of Eloise enacting wild battles and undersea dives in the bathtub on the "tip top floor" of the Plaza contrast deliciously with the resulting swampy splendor of the ballroom. Extended fold-out cross-sections of the hotel's plumbing system and a spectacular, colorful, double gatefold illustrating the underwater ball ("the sensation of the social season" thanks to Eloise!) add drama and silliness as well. A splawsh indeed! (Ages 6 to 106) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Ever-irrepressible Eloise absolutely loves taking a bawth, and her devotees will absolutely love seeing her "splawsh, splawsh, splawsh" her way through a delightfully disastrous-yet ultimately propitious-time in the tub. "You have to be absolutely careful when you take a bawth in a hotel," announces the famous Plaza-dweller, who ignores her own advice and turns on all of the faucets ("Let that water gush out and slush out into that sweet old tub tub tub and fill it up to the absolutely top of its brim so that it can slip over its rim onto the floor if it wants to"). A judicious use of blue on Knight's trademark pen-and-inks traces the flow of water as it seeps from the penthouse through the floors of the Plaza Hotel into the grand ballroom, where workers feverishly prepare for the Venetian Masked Ball. Featuring two gatefold spreads, Knight's drolly detailed pictures depict the hotel's startled guests and employees as water gushes from such unexpected sources as elevator buttons and chandeliers. Oblivious Eloise, meanwhile, blissfully imagines herself driving a speedboat full throttle, water skiing and battling pirates in the Caribbean. A postscript (cleverly presented as a message in a bottle) explains that Thompson and Knight collaborated on this book 40 years ago, and it has been brought to light with the help of playwright Crowley. Since the buoyant art and humorously bubbly text surely rise to the level of its precursors, it's high time this book appeared, "for Lord's sake," as Eloise herself might say. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (October 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689842880
• ISBN-13: 978-0689842887
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #218,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloise Takes a Plunge....., November 18, 2002

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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."

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait??? ABSOLUTELY!, October 30, 2002

By	Divine Miss M (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

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!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who says bawths can' be fun?, March 10, 2003

By	Tyson (MI) - See all my reviews

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.