Eloise in Hollywood - Hardcover

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.

If your mother is even one-half worth her salt then sooner or later she's bound to make the acquaintance of a famous Hollywood Movie Mogul who will insist you simply must must must drop in for a visit." And that's how Eloise, Nanny, Weenie and Skipperdee land in glittering Hollywood in this rollicking if overlong caper penned by screenwriters Stem and Weiss, who competently mimic the distinctive voice created by Kay Thompson. Choosing the mode of transport favored by "many famous studio types," Eloise and her traveling companions board a train for Los Angeles, where the Mogul's chauffeur gives them a tour of the town's hot spots before delivering them to the pleasingly pink Hollywood Hills Hotel. Not surprisingly, the aspiring young actress manages to steal the show as she eventually (in the book's last third) gets her (brief) moment in the spotlight in a movie starring a "boy genius who solves crimes for the President." Enik's (Love and Kisses, Eloise) flourishes-filled, animated pen-and-ink illustrations feature pink and turquoise watercolor washes, and pay homage to Knight's Eloise art. A bustling, full-color gatefold reveals Eloise joyfully romping through a studio back lot. The text and pictures have a more contemporary feel than those in the original tales, but the creators have mostly kept the essentials intact, and that's rawther good news. All ages. (Oct.)
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