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Book Review of The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth
Spuddie avatar reviewed on + 412 more book reviews


A classic childrens fantasy tale that Id never heard of til recentlywritten in 1961 and full of the sort of puns and wordplay I would have loved as a youngsterwish Id known about it then.

Milo is a young boy who is disillusioned with lifewherever he is and whatever hes doing, he wishes he were somewhere else doing something different. Thoroughly bored with life is our Milo. One day he comes home to find a tollbooth in his bedroom, something hes pretty sure wasnt there before. He climbs in his little car, pays his toll and finds himself suddenly somewhere else and certainly doing something different! Consulting the map, he decides to head for Dictionopolis, but first must travel through Expectations, the doldrums and the Foothills of Confusion. Wonderful story with a very basic life lesson (that I think some people never quite learn, actually)...hilarious characters, word streams and funky illustrations as well.