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Eloise has always had a rather festive air about her, but when Christmastime rolls around, well, it's "Fa la la la fa la la la lolly ting tingledy here and there," of course. The bunchy-bloused, spindly-legged scamp is speaking in rhyme this time, and in typical Eloise fashion, the verse simply can't be perfectly metered, for what would be the point? She rushes around New York's Plaza Hotel on Christmas Eve, jingling, spreading Christmas cheer, tying tassels on the thermostats, and writing "Merry Christmas" on all the walls. And of course there are gifts to be delivered and wrapped:
For Weenie a roastbeef bone deluxe
For Skipperdee raisin milk
I'm giving the valet a beehive of course
made of safety pins and silk
Her asides, printed in red, are as priceless as ever: "Sometimes there is so much to do that/ I get sort of a headache around the sides and partially under it." Or in a rare vulnerable moment, "For when you are a child of six/ it's difficult to know/ if you deserve a present or not/ at Christmastime/ or so." But enough of that. "We sang Noel for 506/ Silent Night for 507/ We didn't sing for 509/ at the request of 511."
Hilary Knight's pen and ink pink-and-black illustrations are perfect--particularly of the "sugar plums" dancing in Eloise's head on Christmas Eve, complete with crazed elves, Nanny-as-angel, reindeer with glasses, and of course Santa's sleigh with one giant package in it... for Eloise. Kay Thompson's Eloise at Christmastime, first published in 1958 with a different cover, joins Eloise in Paris and The Absolutely Essential Eloise (with additional historical scrapbook) as a much welcomed reissue of the original. And there's always just Eloise. (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin Snelson
From Parents' Choice®
First published in 1958 (with four fewer pages of Hilary Knight drawings), Eloise, still six in 1999, seems to have lost none of her irrepressible charm. Yet, this wisp of a Christmas tale does not show her to best advantage: too little happens at too great length. Nostalgic grandparents will delight in revisiting New York's Plaza Hotel and remembering how much their children enjoyed hearing about the antics of Eloise, her pet turtle Skipperdee and her pug dog Weenie. Their grandchildren, however, may just wonder what all the fuss was about. (Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice®, 2000)
Review
Roz Chast Eloise is smart and funny and knows how to get around annoying adults.
Book Description
Yes Here she is at Christmastime Complete with tinsel and holly Singing fa la la la lolly And over the roar of the jingle bells You can hear hear hear her say It's absolutely Christmas But I don't mind a bit I give everyone a present For that's the thing of it So when it's everly Christmastime And you're under your Christmas trees Simply tinkle a bell and have a trinkle And remember Me Eloise
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