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 is an American writer and artist. He is the illustrator of more than 50 books and the author of nine books. He is best known as the illustrator of Kay Thompson's Eloise and others in the Eloise series.
