Kid Konnection: Ella

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you an adorable picture book for fans of Eloise!

Summary: This is ELLA. She is six years old. She lives at the Local Hotel. She has a nanny called Manny. He has tattoos for sleeves and he might go in with some guys to buy a grilled cheese truck. Sometimes Ella weaves purses out of Ziploc bags and reclaimed twine. (She is artsy of course.) She has a dog named Stacie and a fish named Rasta and a scooter which is important for getting everywhere she needs to be. Altogether she has been to 62 events including that Hillary Clinton fundraiser. She is NEVER bored. If Ella and Kay Thompson’s Eloise got together for a play date, they would have a very good time indeed. -- Viking

ELLA by Mallory Kasdan and illustrated by Marcos Chin is a very fun book on its own, but given that it's a parody of another little girl who lived in a hotel, I found it especially cute. It's actually great timing for the release of ELLA because ELOISE is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2015!

Six year old Ella doesn't live in The Plaza. Rather she lives in The Local, a hip hotel in New York City. She has a nanny/manny named Manny who has tattoos and plays music, along with two pets -- a goldfish and a dog ("the hotel has a permissive pet policy.") When Ella isn't riding in elevators, she travels by scooter and she also is very artsy, making purses out of Ziploc bags and reclaimed twine!

As you can clearly see, Ella is quite the character; and ELLA brings to life many of her antics. It also features her unusual friends and some of her thoughts about life in general. I found the book to be delightful, especially given that this parody also has terrific illustrations. I loved the drawings of the Ella, the hotel, the multicultural characters, and New York City!

I realize that ELLA is meant to be a parody, but I have a feeling that the humor will be lost on most children. However, their parents are a different story! I definitely appreciated the humor in the book and I adored Ella. I just fear that elementary age kids (and younger), even those familiar with Eloise, won't understand the humor and many of Ella's references. Having said that, I do think kids will enjoy ELLA for many reasons, and parents might actually get a kick out of reading (and re-reading) this story!

Overall, ELLA is adorable book with wonderful illustrations and a character who won't easily be forgotten! Definitely recommended to fans of ELOISE!

Thanks to the publisher and Tandem Literary for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!