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Jun 22, 2012allisonallain rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The Phantom Tollbooth written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer was originally published January 1961. It tells the story of Milo a boy who finds everything boring. He wants whatever he can’t have like the grass is always greener on the other side. One day he arrives home to find a mysterious phantom tollbooth was delivered to his bedroom. When he puts it together and drives his little car through he finds himself on a road trip through a mysterious land. He encounters many colorful characters along the way including a ticking watchdog called Tock, the mathemagician and the Whether man. He makes his way through the empires of dictionopolis and digitopolis on his way to find the missing princesses Rhyme and Reason. Juster weaves a world of amazing puns and plays on idioms and famous English sayings. It was as if there was a lesson that each chapter could teach us. I think that they were hidden enough that kids reading this would understand, but would find the adventure so intriguing they don’t realize that they are actually learning something valuable. It’s easy to see that the author has a passion for wordplay The adventure was fun; along the way I learned one shouldn’t jump to conclusions, and to be careful of words because what you don’t say is important as what you do. The main idea throughout the novel was this battle of knowledge vs ignorance. It was pressed that knowledge was good and ignorance is evil and I think that is a good lesson to learn at an early age. The book was a very quick read and the pictures were adorable. It really brought the world to life. I liked the fact that the book includes a map of the world as well so I could really picture everything in my head. I think this would be a great story to read with children and see what they take away from it. They will love the adventure and the lessons as well. What he drove: a small electric automobile Where he went: from the Doldrums to Dictionopolis, the isle of confusion to Digitopolis What they listened to: the sound of Tock the ticking watchdog