I am a big fan of Eloise, the precocious 6-year-old who lives on the top floor of New York City’s posh Plaza Hotel with Nanny, Weenie (a pug), and Skipperdee (a turtle). Unlike many other devotees, I never read the Eloise books as a child; I discovered them (The Absolutely Essential Eloise, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmastime, and Eloise in Moscow) as a young adult. Even then, I was completely hooked—or, as Eloise would say: Oooooooooooooo I absolutely loved the books.

The first Eloise book, originally titled Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown-ups, was published in 1955. It was written by Kay Thompson, a larger-than-life character in her own right. If you get a chance, check out her life history—it’s fascinating. Thompson was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and vocal coach. Judy Garland was one of the many up-and-coming singers she coached and they developed such a strong friendship that Thompson was asked to be Liza Minnelli’s godmother. In fact, some people think that Liza was the inspiration for Eloise, though Thompson never claimed she was.

Before she became a literary sensation, Eloise was a funny little personality that Thompson made up to amuse her friends. In a high-pitched, childish voice, she’d pretend to be a know-it-all, outrageous 6-year-old. Then, one day, a friend introduced her to Hilary Knight, a talented young illustrator, and suggested the two work together. The rest is history. Their book was an instant hit. Little girls all over America were fascinated by the exotic life Eloise led—so different from their own. Yet they identified with her irrepressible, often-naughty spirit. The books inspired Eloise dolls, toys, and clothes. Parents brought their daughters to the Plaza, to see the hotel where Eloise “lived.”

Even though Thompson receives the lion’s share of attention when it comes to the Eloise books, it’s hard to imagine Eloise without Knight’s visual interpretation. He perfectly captures her spirit in whimsical black-and-white drawings punctuated by a splash of color, usually pink or baby blue, depending on the book. There is just as much going on in the illustrations as there is in the text. The way Eloise scampers across the page, the expressions on hotel guests’ faces, Nanny in the morning “feeling tired tired tired.”

My favorite book is the first, where we’re introduced to Eloise (“I am a city child/I live at The Plaza”) and her daily routine—including riding the elevator to practically every floor, making the greatest amount of noise possible in the halls, and charging everything to room service. But the sequels (Paris, Christmastime, Moscow) are all delightful. And Eloise Takes a Bawth (pulled from publication by Thompson just as it was about to go to press and published only recently in 2002) is fantastic too.

I wonder, though, how kids today react to Eloise. Do they love her as much as the grown-ups who remember her from their childhood? Or is the world that Eloise inhabits too dated, too foreign for them? My daughter is too young for the books but when she’s older, I plan on reading them with her. I hope she’s charmed as I was. How about you—do you know any children today who love, love, love Eloise? Do tell.