Mart Crowley (1935–2020)

Several gay friends and lovers gather in an apartment for a birthday party in 1960s New York City. The first act leavens their inherent angst with humor. The second act is all angst and raw emotion. An outsider, ostensibly straight, propels the plot by injecting the type of hypocritical disapproval they have banded together to repel. An emotionally complex play from a different time, but it still resonates.

Eloise returns stateside in this fifth picture-book chronicling her frenetic fun, causing chaos at the Plaza Hotel by taking the longest, messiest (and most entertaining) bath on record. As that pint-sized terror lolls about in the water, splashing here and there, playing imaginative games of all kinds - from surfing, to pirating, to underwater diving, she has the aquatic activities covered - and generally creating a mess, the consequences of her actions are felt all over the hotel, as leaks show more spring up here and there. Will the Venetian Masked Ball have to be cancelled, or will hotel manager Mr. Salomone be able to pinpoint the source of all the trouble...?

Although it was originally written by Kay Thompson in the 1960s, Eloise Takes a Bawth never saw print in her lifetime, being suppressed by the author for reasons unknown. This edition, which was published in 2002, was authorized by her estate, and features newly updated artwork by Hilary Thompson. Still, as the story and the basic art ideas were all created back in the early 1960s, I consider it the last of the "original" Eloise books, and as such, decided to include it in my recent classic picture-book character reading project. I'm glad I did, as it is an amusing tale, and reminded me of some of the pleasure I took in baths myself as a girl - the games I would play, the slip-sliding I would do, the general mess I would make. I don't know that it has the feeling of a series "ending" to me, but as it is the end - I don't intend to read any of the contemporary tag-along, coat-riding titles written and illustrated "in the style of" the original creators - I can say that I have enjoyed meeting its heroine, even if she isn't destined to become one of my favorite picture-book characters. At least now I know what all the fuss is about... show less

Aside from the Boys in the Band, most of these plays are probably not particularly well known. Most of them are on similar themes, and two of the other plays in the book follow the same character(s) as Boys in the Band. One of the plays looks at the life of the main character as a teen, and the other picks up the lives of the "boys" 30 years later. The plays are unpleasant for the most part, with people who are impossible to like, and for the most part, impossible to sympathize with too show more much. Still, they are compelling, and would make for very good theatre, because unlikable characters are often the most interesting. I find it difficult to discuss these plays, and so I think I will leave it at that. show less

The illustrations and layout are delightful, but what plot there is never surprises and unlike earlier Eloise books, has no echo of why the 6 year old is such a character.