The Phantom Tollbooth | Norton Juster | Great book for children

The Phantom Tollbooth | Norton Juster | Phantom Tollbooth is a Good Read

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The Phantom Tollbooth

	The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster Bullseye Books, 1988 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 549 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great book for children

I first read this book when I was about 10 years old and loved it! I read it so many times that it eventually fell apart. Now I am buying it for my daughter

Phantom Tollbooth is a Good Read

When I first started reading the Phantom Tollbooth, I quickly got bored and disliked it. The main character is Milo, a boy who thinks everything is boring, and he isn't very fun. But once he enters the magical tollbooth mysteriously found in his room, the book quickly turns from drool to cool.
Milo is soon faced with a decision; go through many dangers and conflicts to rescue two princesses, or to just not worry about it. Milo chooses to try and rescue them from the Castle in the Air. He and his friends, Tock the Watchdog and the Humbug, must be smart, quick, and brave in order to rescue Rhyme and Reason, the princesses, and to get past the dangers.
I recommend the Phantom Tollbooth because it has an interesting plot and characters. The main character travels over the fantasy land, including Dictionopolis, Digitopolis, Expectations, the Doldrums, and many more places. The main character, Milo, also develops from a kid who can't find anything to do to a kid who wants to do everything. Phantom Tollbooth is a good read, and I recommend it highly.

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One of my favorites

"I didn't know that I was going to have to eat my words," objected Milo. "Of course, of course, everyone here does," the king grunted. "You should have made a tastier speech." If you liked the fun wordplay above you will love the Phantom Tollbooth.

Milo was always bored. Then a tollbooth mysteriously appeared in his bedroom. So he dusted off his car, paid the toll, and went through. Milo enters a fantasy world where the literal meaning of words is used, but the real meaning is confused, mangled, and lost, which makes for a very exciting, interesting, and humorous story. Milo meets a "watchdog" named Tock who goes "tickticktick" all day. Tock tells Milo all about time. After Milo meets Tock they enter Dictionopolis pick up the Humbug and together they go on a quest to rescue the two princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Milo finds he is not bored anymore. Milo's world is now exciting to him, full of adventure and unexpected surprises.

The Phantom Tollbooth takes place mostly in the Lands Beyond, but also takes place in Milo's bedroom at the beginning and end of the book. The Lands Beyond is a fantasy world made up of kingdoms with problems. Dictionopolis and Digitopolis are kingdoms ruled by different kings who disagree so much that Milo says, "Then each of you agrees that he will disagree with whatever each of you agrees with . . . and if you both disagree with the same thing then aren't you really in agreement?" It's a nonsensical and confusing world where people eat half-baked ideas (such as "the moon is made of green") and get hungrier when they eat subtraction stew (you are full before you eat). There is even an island called Conclusions that you can only get to by jumping. I like the setting because it seems almost magical and yet very logical. It makes for an extremely silly and humorous story. The events seem real in the world of the book.

There are three main characters; Milo, Tock, and The Humbug. Milo is a boy. He is bored in his room then he becomes adventurous once he starts his journey through the Lands Beyond. Milo is bravely curious because he rescues the princesses. Milo is a believable character. Tock is a watchdog and is a male. He is a watch with half a dog on either side and is loyal and brave. He stays with Milo and he growls at people when Milo is angry at them. The Humbug is a giant super over-sized dumb, illogical bug. He came out of the Sea of Knowledge dry. He says the wrong thing at the wrong time. His illogical reasoning provides humor.

Norton Juster, the author of the Phantom Tollbooth, wrote the book in the early 1960s while living in Brooklyn, New York. He has written eight other books, but his main focus in life has been architecture. Juster dreamed of being an architect as a child. In 1970, Juster co-founded an architectural firm in Massachusetts. From 1970 until 1992 he was a professor of architecture and environmental design at Hampshire College. Juster currently lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

I think the Phantom Tollbooth is fantastic. I like this book because it's fun, funny, and interesting. People who like fun wordplay, are easily overcome by suspense, or who like exploring will love this book.

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Great book to share with your children