Phantom Tollbooth

Rating:
Summary: Willy Wonka meets Websters Collegiate Dictionary
Review: I love this book. Back in fifth grade, Miss McGowan read our class a chapter a day from this book for a few weeks. For any schoolteachers out there -- this is a highly effective, and arguably educational, means of crowd control, if you're in charge of droves of unruly kids. For any kids out there -- it was a good crowd control method because we LOVED it! It's just a fantastic story, one that gets you thinking about many illogical features of the English language. I bet a lot of writers got set on the road to being authors because of reading this book, when they were younger...

It's just a terrific story, about a kid named Milo who is given a mysterious tollbooth as a gift (yes, I'm serious.) He drives through it in a toy car, enters a strange land, and before you know it he is immersed in a quest to restore Rhyme and Reason (two lost princesses) to the devastated, former "Kingdom of Wisdom." Everywhere he goes, he meets really weird creatures. If you like to draw, it is a lot of fun to try to imagine what these creatures look like, and draw them. Basically, this book is just an awful lot of fun. You'll never forget it. If you liked the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," you will love this book. Two thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: truely amazing
Review: I read this book when I was in third grade and immediately loved it. Since then I have read it numerous times and continue to enjoy it. Every time I read it I'm taken to the Lands Beyond and am taught new things. The only thing I could possibly compare the book to would be a Disney movie which has hidden jokes for adults. Both Disney movies and the Phantom Tollbooth entertain young children as well as adults. When asked by a college advisor what my favorite book was I did not hesitate before saying the Phantom Tollbooth. This is truly an amazing and wonderfully creative book. I would strongly recommend reading it to anyone of any age.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest children's book I have ever read
Review: I remember reading Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth" when I was in third grade and liking it for its adventure, its characters, and its wordplay (though I missed most of it that time around). I've kept the same copy over the years - both covers have fallen off, but I have fond memories of it. About a week ago I took it off the shelf and read it again because I was bored (much like Milo, the book's main character, was when he first stepped into the Tollbooth). What I found was a splendid allegorical story that has a refreshing lookout on life quite different from that preached by most children's fantasy. The genre of escapist fantasy, fueled by claims that as long as one has imagination one doesn't have to do anything, is debunked by this book. Its last words are "I would like to make another trip, but I really don't know when I'll have the time. There's just so much to do right here."

The wordplay in this book approaches Carollian proportions in parts. The descriptions of the demons near the end (including such monstrosities as the Horrible Hopping Hindsight, a "most unpleasant fellow whose eyes were in the rear and whose rear was out in front... he invariably leapt before he looked and never cared where he was going as long as he knew why he shouldn't have gone to where he'd been") are wonderfully clever and illustrate the worse sides of human nature very well. Other characters - Alec Bings (he sees through things); the fat/thin/tiny/giant man, Dr. Dischord and the Awful DYNNE; Chroma the color conductor; the Spelling Bee; and the .58 of a boy (he's one of the 2.58 children the average family has) are all so well done that one finds oneself reading their parts over and over again with a grin on one's face.

Though the allegory becomes too simple as one grows older, it should be returned to over and over again just to see if you missed anything the last time around. It was only recently that I noticed the wonderful line "Is everybody who lives in Ignorance as bad as you?"

Rating:
Summary: A favorite since the first read
Review: I remember receiving this book as a gift from my grandmother when I was in third grade. Now I'm in ELEVENTH grade, and it is still my favorite book EVER...and it is a frequent read for me. Every time I read it, I seem to relate to one of the MANY different and well-developed characters: Milo, the boy who desperately looks for something to cure his terrible ennui; Tock, his faithful "watchdog;" the Humbug; the quarrelsome family of Azaz, the Mathemagician, Rhyme, and Reason; Alec; Chroma, the conducter of color; the Soundkeeper; and so many others.

The Kingdom of Wisdom in this book takes things that we take for granted in our everyday lives and personifies them, as is the case with Rhyme and Reason, the Isle of Conclusions, and "Point of View." It also provides slanted and comical views of many clichés that we use. For example, when Milo and the others at the "Word Banquet" were forced to "eat their words" and the Demon that makes "mountains out of molehills."

It also offers contrasting points of view on sights and sounds. Alec, the boy who "grows down," offers Milo many points of view on life by showing him two towns, Illusion and Reality. Illusion is a beautiful town...at first glance. In actuality, the town is invisible, but the people have not realized that. Another example are sounds. Dr. Dischord and the awful DYNNE find pleasure in horrid, loud sounds (like explosions and screams), while the peaceful Soundkeeper basks in the wonders of silence.

Overall, this is a book I recommend to anyone, but especially those who are in their younger years and wish to explore the world, but still want to be entertained.

Most of all, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH offers many poignant quotes that really make one think, such as this one by Rhyme:

"And remember that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight, but someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow."

Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get better than this
Review: My father read this book to me the first year it was published. I was nine and it has been on my bookshelf since. I can't tell you how many copies of this I have purchased for people.

This is a great book to encourage thinking, not simply memorizing. Each page contains new language, new ideas, new ways to play with learning. It also happens to be a wonderful story. I may have been too young at nine to read it on my own, but certainly it is a great read-aloud for children nine or a bit younger. At nine, I didn't understand all the fancies, but like the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, this book succeeds on many levels.

The Phantom Tollbooth encourages a child's love for language. It paints wonderful pictures (with the help of Feiffer's charming line drawings). It is as perfect a thing as can be written.

Oh, and if you're an adult without any children at home - buy the book for yourself. It will take you away from the Doldrums and into the Kingdom of Wisdom where your spirit can be renewed.

Rating:
Summary: Classic wordplay!
Review: This book is fun for all ages, one of the handful of great children's books that will still be fun to read 50 years from now. It's like Dr. Seuss for older children. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.