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Kay Thompson (1909-1998) was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and coach of many MGM musicals in the 1940s. The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old that Miss Thompson put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson became a literary sensation when Eloise was published in 1955. The book has sold more than two million copies to date. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight created four more Eloise books, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth. Hilary Knight, son of artist-writers Clayton Knight and Katharine Sturges, was educated at the Art Students League, where he studied with Reginald Marsh. Besides the Eloise books, Hilary Knight has illustrated more than fifty books for children, six of which he wrote himself. He lives and works in New York City, not far from The Plaza Hotel. Margaret McNamara, the pseudonym of literary agent Brenda Bowen, is the Christopher Award-winning author of the long-running Robin Hill School series, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. She is also the author of the Mr. Tiffin's Classroom series (all illustrated by G. Brian Karas), including How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, which was awarded the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Gold Award, and The Dinosaur Expert, which received three starred reviews. Among her many other picture books is Vote for Our Future, illustrated by Micah Player, which Kirkus Reviews called "essential" in a starred review. Margaret McNamara lives in New York City and spends as much of the summer as she can in Maine. |
