The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
For a child reader, there are books that, on first reading, create an immediate and enduring impression. These books feel deeply personal, and seem to speak directly to the reader. In Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, first published in 1961, Milo is feeling bored and increasingly detached from the world around him. Returning home from school one afternoon, he finds a parcel waiting in his bedroom. Unwrapping it, Milo discovers a magic tollbooth. Driving through in his toy car, Milo enters a strange world, inhabited by creatures such as the lazy and time-wasting Lethargarians; a watchdog named Tock, with an alarm clock for a body; and the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Milo’s journey and adventures have a lasting impact, allowing the young hero to see the real world in a new way. Comparable to Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, Juster’s book is a delightful and inventive fantasy, full of energy and creative wordplay.
