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The Phantom Tollbooth
written by Norton Juster
Studio : Random House
by Random House
Release Date : 1961-08-12
Publisher : Random House
Released : 1989
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780394815008
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 554 reviews)
List Price : $19.95
Our Price : $9.99
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Product Description |
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Illustrated in black-and-white. We're celebrating the thirty-fifth anniversary (1996) of this modern kids' classic with a special hardcover edition! This ingenious fantasy centeres around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey. He meets such characters as the foolish, yet lovable Humbug, the Mathemagician, and the not-so-wicked "Which," Faintly Macabre, who gives Milo the "impossible" mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom... |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
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"It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time," Milo laments. "[T]here's nothing for me to do, nowhere I'd care to go, and hardly anything worth seeing." This bored, bored young protagonist who can't see the point to anything is knocked out of his glum humdrum by the sudden and curious appearance of a tollbooth in his bedroom. Since Milo has absolutely nothing better to do, he dusts off his toy car, pays the toll, and drives through. What ensues is a journey of mythic proportions, during which Milo encounters countless odd characters who are anything but dull. Norton Juster received (and continues to receive) enormous praise for this original, witty, and oftentimes hilarious novel, first published in 1961. In an introductory "Appreciation" written by Maurice Sendak for the 35th anniversary edition, he states, "The Phantom Tollbooth leaps, soars, and abounds in right notes all over the place, as any proper masterpiece must." Indeed. As Milo heads toward Dictionopolis he meets with the Whether Man ("for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be"), passes through The Doldrums (populated by Lethargarians), and picks up a watchdog named Tock (who has a giant alarm clock for a body). The brilliant satire and double entendre intensifies in the Word Market, where after a brief scuffle with Officer Short Shrift, Milo and Tock set off toward the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the twin Princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Anyone with an appreciation for language, irony, or Alice in Wonderland-style adventure will adore this book for years on end. (Ages 8 and up) |
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Oh, the mem'ries |
The phantom tollbooth has been one of my favorite books since the fourth grade, when my teacher read it to the class. We'd sit on the floor, or in desks, or wherever; at an age when most of us were growing out of being read aloud to, Mr. Vogel gave us great memories. He'd read things that, at our age, we would have struggled with. (I think that is the only way being read to is fun. So ... maybe my mom will read me some Milton? Maybe? Maybe not?) - Any way, we might have been able to read The Phantom Tollbooth for ourselves, but Mr. Vogel's voices made it waaay better. (He'd gotten us kind of hooked to this whole "story - time" thing with The Hobbit.)
... that was kind of rambling. ... what evs ... |
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LISTEN, LAUGH, AND LEARN |
Since first published in 1961 Norton Juster's classic children's story has known many incarnations - hardcover reprints, paperback issues, audio cassette, stage play, and now an unabridged audio version read by the incomparable David Hyde Pierce.
Few of us did not watch the popular television show Frasier, and those of us who wouldn't miss an episode were soon fans of Pierce who played Dr. Niles Crane. He was funny, touching, affecting, and thoroughly enjoyable. The same may be said of this narration. His voice so easily becomes that of a small boy as well as the voices of the many characters met on a fantastic adventure. Listen as young Milo discovers a strange tollbooth in his bedroom. Then, since the rather bored youngster has nothing better to do he gets into his toy car and drives through the booth.
What does he find? An absolutely amazing place, Dictionopolis, chock full of words and inhabited by unusual characters from Tock, a watchdog, to Humbug, an insect.
As youngsters accompany Milo on this journey they will not only discover the meaning of words but much to ponder, such as "The way you see things depends a great deal on where you look at them from, " Or, they might consider this: "'I never knew words could be so confusing," Milo said to Tock as he bent down to scratch the dog's ear. 'Only when you use a lot to say a little,' answered Tock."
Children as well as adults will listen, learn, and have lots of fun with The Phantom Tollbooth as read by David Hyde Pierce.
- Gail Cooke
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A funny book |
I am eight years old and the book is great is for any child to read.
I really enjoyed reading the book. I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys humorous books. Sometimes I couldn't put the book down because it was so interesting and I really wanted to find out what was happening next. My older sister, who is 11 years old also loved the book. Both of us are girls.
The book is about a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself and finds out there is much more exciting things about life. My favorite part was when he went to Dictionopolis and he met King Azaz.
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THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster |
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's fantasy novel written by Norton Juster and Illustrated by Jules Feiffer. The story is about a bored child named Milo, who travels to the fantastical Kingdom of Wisdom, where he makes friends, goes on quests, and learns valuable life lessons.
The moral of the story is overt: Milo goes in apathetic toward everything and gradually acquires a healthy appreciation for reading, math, thinking, and learning in general. There are obvious parallels between The Phantom Tollbooth and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Tollbooth is, in a way, a Pilgrim's Progress for thought and learning.
Juster's story is based on wordplay, and is heavily pun-driven. But Juster's writing is so clever that this nearly always works without becoming tiresome, and the book is so humorous and entertaining that even adults should not get bored.
Feiffer's illustrations are sloppy-looking pen scratchings. They aren't great, but they get the job done. Ultimately, though, in the almost fifty years since The Phantom Tollbooth was published, Fieffer's art has been indelibly intertwined with what this book is. In other words, The Phantom Tollbooth is not a book that could ever be re-released with a different set of illustrations.
The Phantom Tollbooth is a classic of children's literature, a book that has held up well over time, and one that can be enjoyed by adults as well.
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My favorite book of all time. |
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Ok, I HATE nonsense novels so you'd think that I'd hate the phantom tollbooth ,right? Wrong! This book is not like other nonsense novels; it's special. With lovable characters such as: Tock the Watchdog, Humbug, Rhyme, Reason, King Azaz, The Mathamagician, and of course the star of this, Milo. I love every single story in this book and laughed aloud at them each-except the first one about numbers, which made my head hurt. |
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