The Phantom Tollbooth Paperback – October 12, 1988

I don't care what it says on the cover, if this is ONLY a book for children, I'm a circus acrobat. And since I'm a 66 yr. old crippled lady and NOT a circus acrobat, this must not be a book just for children. What is it? It's a wonderful collection of delightful play with words and numbers, puns and logic, profound insights and pure fun.
Milo is a boy who is ALWAYS bored. Then, one day he comes home from school to find The Phantom Tollbooth, with directions for assembly, a book of rules, maps, and two coins for the toll. Luckily, Milo also has a driveable toy electric car, so, after the tollbooth is together, he gets in his little car, drops in one of the coins, and off he goes, looking for something that he hopes might not be boring.
And so he goes, having fun times, meeting creatures we all know...a dog with a clock for a body (a watch dog, of course), a large bug that brags without reason and claims always to know the answers (a humbug). He goes to a banquet, but has to eat his words, and wishes he had given a shorter and yummier speech. If I started telling you all the delightful word play I would have to eventually copy the entire book. The author does a magnificent job and his love of words is obvious. No phrase is too small to take literally or juggle into new meanings.
Yet, even in the happy lands of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis....a city that uses numbers like Dictionopolis uses words...there is a problem. Throughout the entire Empire of Wisdom, there is no Rhyme or Reason, who were exiled. Milo, Tock, the watchdog, and the Humbug, start off to bring Rhyme and Reason back to the Empire of Wisdom. They have, of course, many adventures, but the mission doesn't actually become dangerous until they reach the Mountains of Ignorance, where they are beset by terrible demons: the Everpresent Wordsnatcher, who constantly interrupts, the Terrible Trivium, who wastes time doing unimportant, repetitive tasks, the Senses Taker, who wastes time filling out forms with useless information until the person is too bored to go do something more important, the long-nosed, green-eyed, curly-haired, wide-mouthed, thick-necked, broad-shouldered, round-bodied, short-armed, bowlegged, big-footed monster, who is, of course, none of these things, and is, in real life, the Demon of Insincerity. There are too many demons and monsters to mention here, but everyone is a demon you will recognize from your own life, slowing you down, wasting your time, and trying to confuse you.
After a couple of close calls, the three make it to The Castle In The Air and rescue the sisters, bringing Rhyme and Reason back to the Empire of Wisdom. There is much celebration, but Milo, worried that he has been away for so long, gets back in his little car and returns home, where only an hour has passed and the only thing that has changed is Milo, himself, who is no longer bored.
It's a marvelous book, quite suitable for children...none of the "demons" are scary to the youngest child, but I honestly don't believe a child can really appreciate the book's play with words, phrases and numbers. You would have to stop and explain a lot. I'd wait until my kid had a good grounding in the English language before I'd give her this book and, if she didn't like it, I'd try again a few years later. But don't forget to read it yourself. This is one of my favorite books of all time, and five stars just aren't enough to rate it with.

Why I Think Boys May Enjoy This

Somehow in all my life (until now) I missed this book. It wasn’t until someone made a comparison to it in a review for my first Toonopolis book that I discovered it. That being said, I am quite happy to have found it! The first instinct is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for boys. I think, in a way, Phantom Tollbooth is a step above Alice and turns on the clever wordplay to an even higher level, which is impressive. In Alice, there was no overall purpose behind the nonsense. In Milo’s adventure, however, there is an amazing sense of underlying lessons and learning that can be done using the glut of literal puns around cliches and literary devices.

I could easily picture (or even develop) an extended lesson plan in an English class using Phantom Tollbooth as an anchor. Juster masterfully mixes in humorous dialogue with valuable lessons on perspective (Alec Bings, the boy who grew down instead of up), repetitive diction (the five advisers from DIctionopolis), and jumping to conclusions (literally, with the Island of Confusion). The most impressive to me, however, was easy to pass over because very little time was spent on it: the various monsters on the Mountains of Ignorance. A great lesson in a middle school English class would be to take one of the monsters mentioned in brief (such as the Overbearing Know-it-all, Gross Exaggeration, or Threadbare Excuse) and expand on them and why they are such monsters of ignorance even today.

Content/Appropriateness

This book is content appropriate for all ages. Much like the aforementioned Alice stories, it takes place in a whimsical other-world with no real consequence or bearing on the real world. In fact, Milo is only gone for an hour and the only change is knowledge on his part. There is no content that would preclude the youngest of readers from being able to enjoy the story.

The mile-a-minute cliches and wordplay, however, lends me to think that this book is best for 10+. In order to fully appreciate some of the literal humor, the reader will have to have enough experience with English language idioms. Luckily, Juster used some of the most common cliches and even a child reading this book 50+ years after its publication should be able to pick up on the majority of the jokes (and lessons) contained in the book.

Rating

5/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books For Boys reviews.

At 10 years old, this was the first book that ever truly seemed to speak my language. Two decades later, I still feel a measure of understanding, and being understood, when I read "The Phantom Tollbooth".

Excellent adventure designed for readers of any age...especially if they love words. The story deals with a make believe land that Milo travels to one afternoon when he is (much like every other day) very bored and does not know what to do with himself. In this extraordinary land you will encounter a dog named Tock (who ticks), the Humbug, the Horrible Dynne, Rhyme and Reason, and many other colorful characters. There are tremendously fun plays on words and ideas such as The Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping) Dictionopolis (try an 'A' - they are very tasty) and Digitopolis (stay away from Division Soup!)

Milo battles his way through this land (and monsters!) to rescue the princesses Ryhme and Reason. I discovered this book in a tiny dusty library when I was about in 3rd grade and it was one of the first that really captured my imagination and swept me away - nurturing a new and fierce love of reading. Nostalgia not withstanding, even as an adult I enjoy re-reading this and sharing it with my children.

TPT was chosen as a Summer Book Club book for incoming 5th graders. This book engaged all readers and ability levels. We were able to create countless projects based on the interesting characters and plot. By far, this is one of the best books I have ever read as an adult. It is full of idioms, drama, suspense, and imagination. Complete page turner! Ageless classic and a must read bucket list book.