The success of Eloise prompted four sequels: Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmastime, Eloise in Moscow and, later, Eloise Takes a Bawth. Created by actress and singer Kay Thompson and illustrator Hilary Knight, Eloise took the world by storm when it was first printed in 1955, selling 150,000 copies in two years. Want to see the movie? The 2015 live-action version featuring a computer-animated Paddington has many details from the first book in the series, plus a few plot twists and mild thrills to stretch it to a full-length feature.įind our favorites at your local library: A Bear Called Paddington, More About Paddington, Paddington Abroad.The Plaza has known many famous guests over the years, but perhaps none is as famous as Eloise, the mischievous six-year-old girl who lives at the hotel with her nanny, her dog Weenie, and her turtle Skipperdee. With each chapter standing alone as its own story, this quaintly old-fashioned book (the first in the series) is a good choice for young readers who have made the transition to chapter books and an entertaining read-aloud for younger kids. But whether he’s overflowing the bathtub or destroying the neighbor’s watch in a flubbed magic trick, Paddington always comes out on top, his politeness and sweetness intact. Brown and their children, Jonathan and Judy, soon discover that bears, while wonderful to have in the family, are prone to all sorts of misadventures. He attracts the attention of the Brown family, who take him home with them.

The hook: We first meet this young, marmalade-loving bear when he arrives, alone and friendless, at Paddington Station in London from Lima, Peru. Perfect for: Reluctant readers who are tickled by preteen humor.įind our favorites at your local library: How to Train Your Dragon, How to Be a Pirate, How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse. Want to watch the movie? The animated adventures How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) are loosely based on the book series. Filled with slightly rude humor that will appeal to preadolescents (including character names like “Dogsbreath the Duhbrain” and “Snotface Snotlout,”), and rough - but funny - illustrations, this engaging series is sustained by themes about being an underdog and succeeding in ways outside the norm. He describes himself as “not a natural at the Heroism business.” Hiccup, along with the other young Vikings, must choose a dragon hatchling to train and learn to become a warrior before being initiated as an adult member of the tribe. The hook: This humorous 15-book series follows Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the brainy undersized son of a hulking Viking chief.

Eloise a book for precocious grown ups