Eloise Takes a Bawth

Starred review from September 23, 2002
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.

December 1, 2002
Gr 1 Up-Irrepressible Eloise continues to confound the staff of the Plaza Hotel with her imaginative and disaster-producing adventures. Nanny informs the mischievous child that she must take a bath as Mr. Salomone, "the sweetest old manager in this sweet old world busy busy busy with the Venetian Masked Ball in the Grawnd Ballroom tonight," is taking a much-needed break and coming for tea. The resulting elaborate pre-tub rituals and an endless soak full of pirates, motorboats, water skis, etc., create major plumbing problems that saturate the hotel and flood the ballroom. However, when Eloise is hauled off by the manager to confront the mess she has made, what do they discover but a highly authentic Venetian celebration complete with floating gondolas and wet but enthusiastic revelers. Knight's witty line drawings capture Eloise's wild imaginings and capricious personality and those fascinated with the underpinnings and plumbing of a huge hotel will find the myriad details fascinating. The two double-gatefold illustrations are awesome. The text and pictures wander all over the page in perfect imitation of this cantankerous heroine. As in her previous adventures, the language is quirky and sophisticated, sometimes difficult to follow, and probably more appealing to adults. A "rawther" necessary purchase where Eloise is wildly popular.-Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2002
PreS-Gr. 3. Eloise is back, this time in a story suitable to her fame and much better than the last book, which found her in Moscow, for goodness' sake. Apparently ready for publication way back in 1964, this was buried because of "artistic differences." Starting with sketches he originally made 40 years ago, Knight, working with Thompson's heirs and editors, has put together a sprawling, "rawther" amusing tale of Eloise and an ill-fated bath. Nanny tells Eloise not to dawdle in the tub, because the manager of the Plaza Hotel is coming to tea, despite fevered preparations for the Venetian Masked Ball in the "Grawnd" Ballroom. Oh, but Eloise does dawdle. She fills the tub to the "top of its brim, so that [the water] can slip over the rim," which is exactly what it does as Eloise flits in and out of the tub, splishing, splashing, and totally oblivious to the fact that water is seeping, then pouring down into the Grand Ballroom. Thompson's involved rhymed text is enhanced by Knight's inventive artwork, which views the wreckage from every vantage point. Kids will adore seeing Eloise in her room and the wreckage down below, and they'll love the foldout revealing the plumbing of the Plaza. The final spread, showing the Venetian Ball, now authentic because water is flowing everywhere, is an elaborate delight, quite worthy of Eloise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)