Eloise a Paris/Eloise in Paris

Kay Thompson's Eloise

by Kay Thompson

Meet Eloise, the irrepressible six-year-old who lives with her British nanny, her dog Weenie, and her turtle Skipperdee in New York City's Plaza Hotel. Eloise makes a nuisance of herself -- riding elevators, dragging sticks along the walls as she roller-skates down the corridors, and "helping" the staff prepare rooms for official functions. Told from Eloise's perspective, readers will recognize the naughty impulses they always wanted to satisfy. Room service anyone?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, France, Classics, Travel, Humor

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Kay Thompson (1909–1998) was an American author, composer, musician, actress and singer. She is best remembered as the creator of the Eloise children's books.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to find a 1958 hardback edition of this book in a charity shop recently. Although reading this as an adult I became a little tired of the frenetic adventures of Eloise, I know as a child I would have enjoyed these humourous cartoon -like illustrations.

Eloise is a young girl who does everything at top speed with the utmost enthusiasm accompanied by a stream of consciousness and several animal companions. We see no parents in this story only a nanny who seems kind and tolerant. There are lots of French words and expressions that were an enjoyable addition to this story. It's quite a long book and one I think would make a good book to read alone for a child, there's so much to look at, each page is packed with illustrations.

Reading through reviews I was surprised how many found Eloise spoilt and horrible. She has plenty of money but apart from that she struck me as a neglected child, whom despite receiving no attention, love or stability from her parents was basically a kind and happy person.

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one to read to a class as it's verrry long, but I love Eloise and I love Paris. One-on-one with an interested youngster, this makes for a very charming and hilarious story.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punctuation is an adult thing. This is evident in the breathless, tumbling dice style of storytelling that belongs to children. I remember proudly finishing my first short story ever in the first grade: it had plot, dialogue and a twist! (Yes, I was quite the Margot Tenenbaum--minus the eyeliner and creepy brotherly love.) I even folded the pages and stapled it to mimic grownupped-ness. My teacher ruthlessly crushed my aspirations by pointing out that it was just one loooooooooong run on sentence with a solitary period. Humiliated, I vowed never again to be that grammatically exposed.

Thank Miles Davis for Kay Thompson. Thompson nails that exuberant loquaciousness, which sticks to impressions and ignores veracity. I find that kids, rappers, and foreigners are the best smashers and innovators of tired language. Eloise's personal vocabulary contains "skibble," "granning" and, my favorite, "sklathe." I interpret it as a verb connoting an extreme, ele-gawnt way of positioning your body, probably prone. Pas de quoi, it's delicious to say, especially when you want to bumfuddle someone. Plenty of French phrases fall off Eloise's tongue; she translates for you, and she's mostly accurate. Again, her style triumphs over narrow fidelity of meaning.

Thompson's text is delightfully coupled with Hilary Knight's drawings. The curvy, trembly lines fit Eloise's dash and dart style very well as she, Nanny, Weenie and Skipperdee skibble over Paris. In the Plaza, Eloise's world is white, black and pink. Knight smartly distinguishes this book from New York by introducing blue as Paris' thematic color. (I have a small quibble: the original edition's staunch blue is blanched to an insipid pastel in the modern reprint. Pas d'accord!) The pink that is she ELOISE manifests itself still in her signature bow and other totems integral to her personality.

I liked how cultural differences were presented in the story. However, this book was originally sold in 1957, so the European hotel deprivations Americans sometimes bewail might have disappeared from contemporary travel. Not that Eloise complains or sulks when confronted by a lackadaisical room service (possibly non-existent). She just sends a cablegram to her beloved Plaza to send up the jellybeans and Johnny Walker Blacks (no pitch fits, s'il vous plait, the liquor is for Nanny). Eloise's travelogue might be a bit cliche 53 years later. I don't know how authentic or tempting stops to Fouquet's or Aux Deux Magots are nowadays. I'm pretty sure Maxim's was featured in SATC, and that can't be good. However, Eloise cruised the flea market just as I would, and Carrie Bradshaw aside, The Eiffel Tower, Dior, and the Louvre are as eternal as the city in which they reside.

All in all, c'est tres charmant et positively pas de trop! In my opinion, me TRACY.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do I love most about picture books? Is it the simple text that tells so much in so few words? Or is it the brilliant pictures, an art gallery of drawings and paintings in every book?

Eloise in Paris is a magnifiqué picture book, with the simple text plus brilliant pictures plus the charming Eloise and, of course, Paris. Eloise visits Paris and shares her brilliant insights into French culture, circa 1957. Experience Paris through the eyes of a clever and mischievous eight-year-old.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always feel that I should enjoy the Eloise books more than I do for the naughty, madcap little scamp gets up to a variety of antics wherever she goes. And 'Eloise in Paris' is no different as Eloise has a 'rawther extraordinaire' time while in the French capital.

Relaxing (if she is even capable of doing such a thing) in her apartment in the Plaza, New York, she receives a cablegram from her mother inviting her to Paris. Eloise is so ecstatic she races around, frightens her nanny to death and jabbers away in a sort of French patois. She then rings around all the relevant people telling them 'we're going to Paris France goodbye' and she arranges with the general manager of her complex to forward any mail to 'Paris France s'il vous plait'!

Then it is a frantic time getting ready and packing before putting a 'Do Not Disturb' notice on the door of her apartment. Together with 37 pieces of luggage her and her nanny arrive at the airport and when they depart she is already causing chaos on the 'plane. Her French phrases are developing all the time with her favourite, which she uses freely and not always appropriately, being pas de quoi, which as she says, means 'oh, it's quite all right' or sometimes you're welcome.

Eloise and nanny make their way to their hotel, the Relais Bisson on the Quai des Grands Augustins. The lobby of the hotel is 'rawther petite' and Madam and M. Dupois are 'absolutely French'. Madame asks Eloise (obviously with some pre-conceived knowledge) 'ah bonjour Mademoiselle es-tu (a bit familiar this early in the meeting perhaps!) an enfant terrible? Eloise replies, 'No merci Mme Dupois je suis ME ELOISE'. Sotto voce she informs the reader that she always 'uses the French politesse which is to be polite if you possibly can'.

Eloise then decides that she should get cracking and get out on the street, 'otherwise you could have stayed in New York'. So she does and then the real adventures begin. She sees 'beaucoup de' almost everything, does a lot of promenading on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where she has a seltzer and takes a photograph of a pigeon talking to the seltzer bottle!

She later has a glacé, visits Sacré Coeur, the Eiffel Tower and, rather strangely, the British Embassy. She visits the zoo, discovers Paris is 'the world of fashion' and goes to the movies, stating, 'We have been to 37 movies and have seen Orson Welles 19 times.'

She discovers il fait chaud while shopping and M. Dior designs a dress for her - 'here's what I am a clothes horse which is cheval,' she says -, visits the Louvre, where she studies the statue of Venus de Milo, and visits the Palace of Versailles ... and she discovers there are very few places 'where you cannot take a chien'!

When it is time to return home she says, 'I absolutely did not want to leave because, j'aime beaucoup Paris' but she has to say a bientôt, that is after she has sent 67 airmail, 'which is par avion', postcards.

Back at the Plaza she rings room service and says, 'Allo Room Service C'est moi ELOISE Kindly send up 4 watermelon on the rocks ditto 4 champagnes ditto 1 seltzer water please to the top floor s'il vous plait and le charges merci beaucoup' ... it seems that you can take the girl out of Paris but you can't take Paris out of the girl!

Eloise is so glad to be back, even with pigeons in the bawthroom because she left a window open, that she remarks, 'J'aime beaucoup le Plaza which is 'Ooooooooooooo I absolutely love the Plaza'.

And I'm sure I can get to love Eloise if I carry on reading her adventures because she is quite a lovable rascal and she and her adventures are so superbly illustrated by Hilary Knight.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Plaza Hotel's most famous resident heads to Paris in this second picture-book chronicling her frenetic fun, summoned by a special cablegram from her perpetually absent mother. Accompanied by her ever-faithful Nanny, and carting her dog Weenie and turtle Skipperdee along, six-year-old Eloise explores the City of Light, discovering that her antics are just as fun in French. From causing a near-catastrophe on the Etoile, to cavorting in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles - not to mention being fitted for a dress by the celebrated fashion designer M. Dior - everything is rawther exciting for this little girl abroad...

First published in 1957, and then long out of print, Eloise in Paris was re-released in 1999, together with Eloise at Christmastime and Eloise in Moscow , bringing the four original Eloise books (the first had always been available) back into circulation. Although very much in the style of the first book - the same breathless accretion of text (sans punctuation), the same narrative voice, the same winsome illustrations - somehow I just wasn't as charmed by this one, as by the first. Perhaps a little bit of Eloise goes a long way? Perhaps she's a one-trick wonder, and once you've seen the trick it grows old? I'm not sure... but I just wasn't all that engaged by this. Surprising as it may be, given the setting and pace of story - both things that might be said to be designed to garner interest - I was a little bored by this second adventure. Since I never read these as a girl, I have to wonder if that is making the difference. In any case, I'm left questioning my original intention of reading all the original Eloise books... perhaps the next one picks up a bit?

[Manik Sukoco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so charmed by the drawings of Hillary Knight of our little heroine, Eloise sashaying her way around Paris. Your very first glimpse of the six year old planning her trip, is on the end pages of the book. There you will find Eloise sprawled out on the floor on top of her map of Paris. And the birds eye view of the room is captivating and adds to the excitement. It's so fun seeing Eloise in a typical neighborhood Paris hotel, not like the grand digs of her home in New York City on the top floor of the Plaza Hotel. Knight captures the Paris architecture so well that I have hopes that even my eight year old great niece will be able to tell that Paris is so different from the world she knows, so magical and hopefully this book will spur her imagination to want to visit Paris herself one day. The story is typically and wonderfully mad cap Eloise! A must for every Eloise lover!

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Eloise, but I find all the successive books to get a bit tedious. too much of a muchness, I guess.
***
Well, she's grown on me now I don't have young children.

[Shasni Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est la première fois que je vais écrire un avis en français. Donc, j’ai reçu ce livre en édition français même si j’étais sûr que j’avais commandé en anglais mais bon. Je l’adore! Nous avons un aperçu de Paris du point de vue d’Eloise. Trop mignonne et drôlement bien!
J’ai hâte que ma fille le lise un jour.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very wordy. Eloise goes to visit Paris and the Louvre. Funny and cute, but a lot of words for little kids.

[Lizzy Seitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 stars

JADORE ELOÏSE!!!!

Also I feel like these are things I would have wanted to do as a child in Paris lol

[Estelle 🍉 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relaxing book, kinda funny too

[Natalie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun and love the vision of Paris and French vocabulary that is introduced.

[Ayaat Tahseen Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing.

[Nikoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must confessed that I was introduced to Eloise from the fantastic cartoon series on Stars. So, I went to the library and picked up this book hoping that it would be just as fun; and I was not disappointed. My daughter and I just finished reading this book, which took a few nights to do, and I LOVED IT. The artwork is very fun and unique; and I like the simple splashes of color that the artist used. Furthermore, the writing is so much fun to read that I definitely got into the French Accents when reading it out loud.

Unfortunately I do not think my 3 year old daughter enjoyed the book as much as I did but I know that in a year or two she will be a Eloise Fan.
One last note, if you like Fancy Nancy, you will definitely like Eloise because you can see that Eloise had to be part inspiration to that lovely new series.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ughhh, whoever thought Eloise without Kay Thompson would work? Yes I love Knight's illustrations -- without those, I'd give this zero stars.

Whoever writes these does this very bad parody of the original Eloise. They are way too long, far too ridiculous, and just not Eloisey.

Well, I don't like the Christmas one, either, which I think Thompson did write. The Christmas one rhymes, good god. I guess these sequels are a good argument to quit while you're ahead.

Oh, and goodreads lists Thompson as the author -- she isn't. The title says something like "Kay Thompson's Eloise," although I have to wonder where the real Eloise ran off to. This absolutely isn't her.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'm going to read any more Eloise. I liked Eloise and Eloise Takes A Bawth well enough although I found her quite annoying but this book just didn't charm me enough to get me past the annoyingness of the book—between Eloise and the writing style. I think I like her better in the Plaza.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the thing of it:

Paris

Here is what Eloise

does in Paris:

everything.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another adventure with the marvellous Eloise!

[Shiloah · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was a beast to read. It was long and rambly and no punctuation. Cute, but not.

[Catherine Flusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm listening to the audio book and there is so much French or Bernadette Peters is speaking so fast that I couldn't understand parts.

I highly doubt a child would like so many foreign words unless they're learning that language. A parent would probably stumble over the French because French in writing is full of silent letters. Spanish is so much easier for a non speaker to read and at least get the sounds close enough. We just finished putting together a bunch of teaching phonics manuals at work and nonsense words are good so long as they follow the rules of English. Blart. French words seem to follow a completely different rule book and taken out of context of a French lesson, I think a child would get too confused and confusion leads directly to frustration.

Disclaimer: I took Spanish in high school and college. I've read French in books and I get frustrated because the words look nothing like they are pronounced. Faux Pas. Qui.

Taken in the context of a woman creating a character too entertain her cosmopolitan adult friends, Eloise in Paris sounds accurate.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le roman “Eloîse à Paris” de Kay Thompson, publié en 1957, m’a tout de suite intriguée par son thème original. Après lecture, je peux dire que ce livre est parfait pour les enfants. Si j’étais une petite fille, je l’aurais adoré.

L’histoire suit Eloîse, une petite fille mystérieuse d’un âgée indéterminé. Parmis les autres personnages incluent sa nanny, son chien et la tortue.

Il était parfois difficile de suivre l’historie car l’écriture imite l’esprit d’un enfant. Eloîse passait rapidement d’un sujet à l’autre. Mais, les illustrations m’ont beaucoup aidée - bon sang!
Par conséquent, j’ai trouvé la langue assez complexe à cause du vocabulaire varié. Eloîse disait souvent des choses très bizarres. C’est une vraie petite enfant sauvage!

Je voudrais relire ce roman dans 6 mois ou plus, pour voir si j’aurai plus de temps qu’avant.

[Ashlynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this with my toddler tonight and oh, it was AWFUL! This is the first Eloise book we have attempted to read (maybe the others are better?) This book, it was a lot of random, skipping-around nonsense. Eloise is a ridiculously bratty character. She had no respect for people, property, or culture. In the beginning it seems like she is going to see her parents in Paris, but they don’t appear in the whole book. I thought Eloise was a beloved children’s book character, but I don’t know how anyone could find her charming.

[Adam Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloise in Paris is enormous fun, full of speed and energy. This is my first Eloise and I loved the way she zooms everywhere, there’s a particular illustration of her causing chaos on the Champs Elysee which I loved.

The book is written in the second person, in short breathless sentences and because Eloise is in Paris, she peppers her speech with mangled French phrases, which I found very funny. She also makes up her own words, ‘skribble’ instead of walk and ‘skaith’ instead of slide. When she gets her injections for France (is that needed?) she describes it as “zambo, sting, sting, stinger”.

I can see how some people may dislike Eloise, she is spoiled and hyperactive (and has a triple Johnnie Walker at one point) but I liked her.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read the French version of this picture book. Absolutely delightful! Not an easy read for an intermediate French student like myself, but with the help of the photos and a dictionary on occasion, the gist of the rollicking, humorous story spill over even without 100% comprehension of every phrase.

[Magpie67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rawther festive, rawther fluzzery, rawther extraordinaire... Wish I had someone to read it too. Who knew French bread made excellent skis? Love the play on words, all the French words added in and the French icons she visited... even though we saw them through her eyes only. A young child's view of the world. A precocious child with a large vocabulary.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloise is hilarious. Dated, precocious, spoiled, and hilarious. Wearing French bread as skis (and later, putting the loaves out with her shoes to be cleaned); her dog has his own private swimming pool (the bidet). This is only my second Eloise book (I enjoyed her trip to Moscow more but maybe because it was my first time to travel with her.) Her insights are rawther wonderful!

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated it. The style didn’t work for me, and I ended up skimming through the boring, rambling drivel.

Rather than charming, I found Eloise to be an obnoxious brat. Do I think a neglectful upbringing is responsible? Sure, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a brat or that I want to read about her. Apparently generations have found her charming, I’m just not among them.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. Even worse than the first book. Nearly unreadable. And just generally annoying. It captures a time and a place and some of the art is pretty good. But mostly this is just really annoying. I suppose you should like the first book to read the next - us completists bring averages down - but apparently there are not that many of us. 1.5 of 5

[Sophie Sternschuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like this one as much I think due to the amount of French language which I am far from fluent in. Although some words and phrases are explained there’s a lot I would have to translate especially if reading to a child . However the illustrations were just as beautiful and exciting . I’m not really sure why they went to France exactly as her mother was never present .