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Summary: The Phantom Tollbooth
Review: A Review of
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Would you take a journey to a land beyond? Follow Milo on his journey in Norton Juster's fantasy novel The Phantom Tollbooth.
The main character, Milo, is an unhappy, school-aged boy bored with life. Milo thinks nothing is worth doing in life. Until one day Milo went to his room and found a tollbooth. He drives his little red car through the tollbooth to a mysterious land. He visits the Doldrums, Foothills of Confusion, Dictionopolis, jumps to the Island of Conclusions, and more. During Milo's adventure you will meet two kings that are brothers and they just can't stop fighting because there is no Rhyme or Reason. Rhyme and Reason, the kings' sisters, have been banished to the Castle in the Air. Milo bravely decides he is going to save the princesses.
Milo has several problems in the Mountains of Ignorance when he meets the demons. Milo figures out that the demons are made out of everything he use to be. Milo still has a long way before his journey is complete.
You will never get bored while reading The Phantom Tollbooth! I really liked this book because it's full of surprises and excitement. Milo meets interesting characters and learns how important life is. This fantasy book teaches some real life lessons. I recommend this book to anyone who loves fun and excitement!
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Summary: The Phantom Tollbooth
Review: Listless Milo never knows what to do with his time. When a large, incongruous package arrives in his room, he opens it because there is nothing else worth doing. In the package he finds a tollbooth, a map, various coins for the tollbooth, precautionary signs, a rule book and a small car. He pays his fees and drives through the tollbooth and finds himself in an unfamiliar country. He continues to drive and arrives at Dictionopolis, a place that favors words. The king of Dictionopolis sends Milo a watch dog named Tock and the Humbug, a large beetlelike insect to rescue the banished Princess of Sweet Rhyme and the Princess of Pure Reason. Only they can bring peace between Digitopolis, a place that favors numbers, and Dictionopolis. The three embark on a mission to find Rhyme and Reason. On the way, they meet a boy named Alec who is born in the air and grows down, Dr. Dischord, a creator of noise and Dynne, a noisemaker. Throughout the journey, Milo continues to meet many fascinating creatures and realizes life isn't so boring after all. This cleverly written fantasy by Norton Juster teaches us there are lands beyond our imagination. Juster skillfully uses words and has a great sense of humor. I could see every scene clearly in detail. Although The Phantom Tollbooth never received a Newberry award, it will always remain one of my favorite books.
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Summary: ABC, 123, do-ray-me....
Review: Let me begin by saying how pleased I am to see so many reviews for this book. I had been under the impression (an impression I now see was thankfully false) that "The Phantom Tollbooth" had fallen into relative obscurity in the last 20 years or so. I'm basing this impression on the fact that you just don't hear anybody mention it anymore. Not librarians or booksellers or teachers or anybody. You don't read current criticism of the book. There aren't huge theses based on its plot or reasonings. And yet... It is a great story with great writing, a lovely (if sometimes overdone) plot, and a merry cast of characters. Accompanied by the delicate illustrations of one Jules Feiffer, the book deserves to be remembered for all time. Hopefully, it will be. We follow the adventures of Milo in this story. Milo is ennui incarnate. Nothing interests the boy and he has a very difficult time seeing the point in anything at all. One day Milo walks into his room with the plan of finding disinterest there and finds instead that he has been given a large present. It is, according to an accompanying note, one genuine turnpike toolbooth. After assembling the creation, Milo decides to play with it for a little while. He hops into his electric car (possibly the number one toy most desired by children reading this tale), plops some money into the toolbooth, and finds himself in a completely different, and oddly unnamed, new land. It is there that Milo meets and befriends a variety of different creatures and beings. Ultimately, the boy is sent on a journey to locate the princesses Rhyme and Reason from their imprisonment in the sky. But the brunt of the book, and the parts that most people remember, are the warlike words between the king of Dictionopolis and the Wizard of Digitopolis. In fact, all that I could remember about this book (years after reading it and moments before rereading it) was that the debate was the question of which was more important; words or numbers? Being an English major I'd probably throw my cap in with the former, but, as the princesses Rhyme and Reason make clear, the two are of equal value. The book's plot is not a particularly new one. Anybody familiar with any basic quest story, be it "Alice In Wonderland" (to which this has many similarities), "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" or even "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" will recognize this book's form. What sets it apart from the rest is not only the world in which Milo finds himself abroad, but the character of Milo himself. Here is a boy with a serious deficiency. He is Maurice Sendak's "Pierre" and he simply does not care. By meeting the residents of a world of everything from words and numbers to colors and sounds, Milo comes to understand that the more one learns, the farther one can travel. Filled with sly puns and clever ideas the book is a real delight. The king of Dictionopolis is named Azaz. There is a boy who is only .58 of a person and who patiently explains that in his land every family has 2.58 children. He is simply that .58. Things like that. A lot of this books sails swimmingly over the heads of children, while a couple other moments sail swimmingly over the heads of most adults. It's worth it to pay attention to Juster's writing too. Though prone to silliness, the author is equally comfortable spouting text like, "Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn?...Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause in a roomful of people when someone is just about to speak, or most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're all alone in the whole house?" I love passages like this. Juster is the rare author that can make you laugh and then pause for thought within a scant two or three sentences. As I said at the beginning, in spite of all the good reviews this book has received, I still feel that, "The Phantom Toolbooth" is unappreciated in this day and age. Where's its movie? Its official fan club? Its annotated editions? Alas, I feel we'll have to wait until the novel receives the acclaim of which it is utterly and entirely deserving. Until it does, let's just sit back in a comfy chair and glow in the inviting warmth of a book that finally gives full attention to the inner lives of sounds, vowels, and computations.
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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.
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Summary: The Most Incredible Book In The History Of Books
Review: OMG! What is there to say? I love this book so much. I cried when I reached the last page because I never wanted it to end. I love this book so much I have read it 5 times in the past year. Milo is a young boy who thinks everything is boring and worthless and pointless. One day a tollbooth appears in his room so he drives through it. After he drives through it he finds himself in a magical land. He soon befriends a watchdog (literally) named Tock. Milo and Tock venture through many lands like Dictionopolis and The Silent Valley. They meet tons of really odd yet cool creatures. And finally they save the princesses, Rhyme and Reason, and they resolve all conflict in the land. I don`t wanna give away the exact end so I`ll stop here by saying.......You NEED to read this book. It`s one of those books that you`ll want to pass down for generations. For some it might even change your lives. This book ventures into the true meanings of things and it gives you a whole new point of view. It doesn`t matter how set in your ways you are. This book WILL change you. Whoever doesn`t read this book is missing out on something really wonderful.
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Summary: REALLY REALLY GREAT!
Review: this book is so so good. I really like the spelling bee.I think this book is the funniest book I have ever read in my life.this book should get all the awards.
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Summary: Great creativity!
Review: This is one of my favorite books - very creative - I have enjoyed reading it for the past 20 years & I plan on reading it to my daughter. From the moment Milo drives through the tollbooth, you are on a wonderful adventure - eating "Substraction Stew" makes you hungrier and jumping to conclusions puts you on an isolated island called "Conclusions".
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Summary: WORST BOOK EVER
Review: This is absolutely the most horrendous book I have ever read. I would never recommend this book to anyone, EVER! Reading about a kid who thinks every one is abore is boring its self. Who would be dumb enough to go through a tollbooth that appears in your room after school? So, whoever reads this should never read "The Phantom Tollbooth."
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Summary: An easy way to discover the joys of knowledge
Review: This book , in my opinion, is an easy way to discover the joys of knowledge. Milo at the beginning of the book thought that school was just another way for parents to bore you. But throughout this book milo learns to think out of the box. To take a closer at everyday things. I think by reading this book you can open your mind to new ideas and opinions.
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Summary: The Tollbooth Tool
Review: This book is a fantastic tool in preparing your kids for the transition into a higher level of critical thinking and math. I have had the most success reading this book to fifth graders and I feel it is great preparation for moving on to sixth grade. This book helps children to transition from grade school level to middle school level by giving them an entertaining story that helps them to learn more complex levels of math. I especially love the characters in this book because they are fun, but carry deeper meanings that are fun to learn from. I highly recommend this book because of its content, more complex math terms and a higher level of reading.
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