The Phantom Tollbooth

Loved this book growing up, so I bought it for a friends child for Christmas. Now his mom is a fan.

Clever and so much fun!!

I loved this book so much as a child that I have searched, asked, Googled, and finally found again 40 years later. The plays on wording, the adventure, the journey, and the life lessons, which still apply today make for a wonderful book in which to lose oneself.

I bought this for my granddaughters library, because I loved this book as a kid. So, me and my 2 adult daughters were talking, and mom says I’ve been telling them to read this book! I always remembered it! (She wasn’t a big reader). D2 says, yeah, me too! She liked to read. My oldest grandson who is an adult now, it was probably the only book that caught his attention at all. I’ve NEVER seen him read a book he didn’t have to. So all I can say is three generations of readers, big readers, not so much readers, have to read a book for school readers…..it really seems to be a winner.

I bought this for my daughter because her school needed it for her. Little did I know, it would turn out to become one of her favorite books of all time. This gift is perfect for young children, especially ages around fifth grade. This is such a silly little book and I 8/10 recommend. Only con is that you’re probably better off going to Barnes and noble

... to have this book redone into Movie to today's technology. It's a memorable book from my childhood in the late 80's early 90's. The book has some great messages and innuendos that really apply to all ages if they can catch the connotations and meanings to the words. Even rereading this recently, you can't really grasp all of it in one sitting. It's like those hidden messages in all the Disney movies that take you lifetimes to understand. This movie rendition of The Phantom Tollbooth is not in order of the book and they did make some changes to it that I thought wasn't a benefit and more of a determent as it left a great conflict material to show what we really all face. If anyone has any movie/film making buddies... spread the word! I could only imagine how awesome they could turn this into a modern marvel of this day. My children and I enjoy reading books that have movies so we can compare and contrast the book to the movie to see which version did it better and what it changed/missed. It's a great bonding time as well as exploring the imaginations we have and expectations we place. Sadly, the outdated movie with it's choppy and mixed up flow didn't peak their full interest as it was a disappointment compared to the book. Book though, is FANTASTIC. My boys, ages 9 and 11, learned some new words and meanings... like the most notable "dodecahedron". Even I struggled as tried to pronounce some of these goodies. It is a bit dated perhaps, with the "dynne", as I never heard that used in describing loud undesirable noises. All in all, I'm never disappointed with reading this, past or present.

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.

Our 10 and 11 year old are reading The Phantom Tollbooth together. They both find it hilarious. The adventure is full of weird and funny twists. When have a couple more chapters to read but I can't imagine we would not enjoy the ending. Hmmm... where will Milo go next?