The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth

Citation: Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. Random House, 1961.

Plot:



I mean, you've read it, right? This has got to be one of the most difficult books to summarize without taking up pages, just because so much happens. So, I'm going to miss a lot. But the main points? Milo is an easily bored, lackadaisical child that one day receives  a mysterious gift of a car, tokens, and a tollbooth. He heads to Dictionopolis (I forgot to mention he got a map), and ends up on a quest to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Along the way Milo goes through the valley of sound, where he rescues sounds, he jumps to the island of conclusions, he ventures through the number mines and the mountains of ignorance, and his sense of humor eventually helps him get past the mathematician in digitopolis. Milo may accomplish his quest, but the real conclusion is the effect his symbolic journey has on his reality.
 
Review:



I absolutely loved this book when I was in 5th grade. I read it a bunch, carried it around, and felt very existential about the whole thing. I'm currently NOT a librarian, and still heavily recommend this book when I'm teaching 5th or 6th grade. If I am being honest? it wasn't as fun reading it as an adult. However, in admitting this, I should probably also point out that I don't blame the book for this. Now that I'm older, I felt like I was just pushing through the book to get it over with. I appreciate all of the double entendres in the book, the symbolism, and how it makes you ponder existentialism (maybe) for a moment. Or else you just laugh about someone literally jumping to conclusions. Either way, great read for tweens... possibly loses that loving feeling as you age.
 
Reading Level: 10 and up



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