The Phantom Tollbooth (Collins Modern Classics) Paperback – Special Edition, 5 Jun. 2002

Loved it when I was 8 even better now Im in my 50s

I first read this book as a child. I am now in my 60s and am still in love with it. Each time I read it I find some subtley that I seemed to have missed before.It teaches without the reader needing to make any effort to learn.As Milo, Tock and the Humbug found when they "Jumped to Conclusions" and needed to swim back through the Sea of Knowlege only the Humbug stayed dry as he was incapable of soaking up knowledge.Beware though they did make an atrocious film of it and my advice woukd be to avoid the film at all costs.

A must read for all. Young and old alike. Rarely has a book been so nonsensical, yet entirely logical. Rarely has a book been so side splittingly funny, yet deathly serious. On the surface, this is a book of a young boys venture into a world of absolute nonsense, yet the more able younger readers and the adult readers will see the philosophical side to it, the comments on human nature, and understand the over-riding message that knowledge IS power.Forget harry Potter. Forget the Hobbit. Forget Jacqueline Wilson. This simply HAS to be the best childrens book ever written.

I read this as a child and loved it so bought it for a teacher friend. Her pupils were younger than I had been (they are 6-7) but they loved it when it was read to them. I think it can be enjoyed by slightly older children especially, and adults will appreciate it too, as it is so clever in its use of words and ideas and it is great fun.

Norton Juster's book is ostensibly a children's book. However, like much of children's literature, it contains hidden (and not so hidden) aspects that are of delight to adults as well. This, when you think of it, makes sense--the point of children's literature is to educate as well as entertain (one hopes!), therefore, it makes sense that some of the lessons will be more 'adult' than the actual storyline would seem to indicate.Milo and his various friends and enemies encountered along the way serve to illustrate many of the foibles and quirks of adult life. The Phantom Tollbooth serves as a gateway to a place that embodies the physical manifestations of metaphors.For instance, in Dictionopolis (a city of words) Milo is invited to a banquet at which one must eat one's words. Just as in our world, sometimes those words can be sour and very hard to swallow.Also, while you can jump to the Isle of Conclusions, you must reach the mainland again only by swimming through the sea of knowledge. And the water is cold. It is not easy to recover from having jumped to conclusions.The interplay between concepts, the tension between words and numbers, the divisions and alliances that are made, the enemies who seem to be friends, all of these serve to make a delightful play which will interest children and adults.Milo, of course, makes it home safely after a fascinating journey, and while he would like to take another trip, the phantom tollbooth is needed elsewhere for other children, too. However, Milo realises that he has his own tollbooth in his imagination, and thus the adventure need never end.

When i was nine (15 years ago) my teacher Mrs Smith read us this i remember being utterly enthralled - but i could never remember the book's name then after descibing it to someone i found it and bought it. Loved it just as much now as then - its beautiful written and so so clever. Too me its up there with the Doctor Doolittle books which i loved and im trying to buy again now. Buy this book for your children - you will not be disappointed i promise

I first read this book when I was around 11yrs old and I still read it periodically at 34yrs of age! This is a wonderful book with a magical story written with warmth and humour. Suitable for reading ages 8+ this book is full of little moral messages that are very well woven into the tale. Excellent.

The Phantom Tollbooth tells the story of Milo, a boy who receives a mysterious gift of a toy turnpike tollbooth complete with little car, and magically enters the Lands Beyond. Here he embarks upon a quest to rescue the maidens Rhyme and Reason from exile, and thereby make peace between the warring kingdoms of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. On his way he visits fabulous and fantastical places full of colourful characters and unexpected hazards, such as The Doldrums, where it is unlawful, illegal, and unethical to think, The Forest of Sight, home of the Great Chromo, the conductor who conducts all the colors in the world, The Valley of Sound, where the Doctor of Dissonance mixes terrible noises assisted by the awful Dynne, The Mountains of Ignorance, where terrible monsters such as the Gross Exaggeration, the Everpresent Wordsnatcher and the Terrible Trivium dwell, and Expectations, the place you must always go to before you get to where you're going. Oh and that's just for starters. This stunningly inventive book will blow your mind! Any child with imagination, curiosity and an interest in fantasy will love this book and remember it for the rest of their life. I know I did.If you can possibly find an edition of the book with the original illustrations by Jules Feiffer, then buy it! Those wonderful images will live in your memory as vividly as Norton Juster's amazing tale. But if those illustrations are no longer in print, then buy anyway... because this book is too wonderful not to own.

2022 favourites be raining like this 😭Love this book so much!Books which make you reconsider the most important things:This is one.This one of the most amazing reads I read this year.I feel this is one of those rare books which mean different things to different people of different ages. One such book that I have in my mind is The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry.There’s so much one can take away from this book!The whole book is quotable. No exaggeration here.This is more of a fantasy middle grade story about a little boy who travels to another world through a tollbooth in his bedroom. He visited several places which have unique names like the Land of Expectations and the Mountain of Ignorance.I would say this little book has lots of life lessons more for the adults than for the kids. I was totally mesmerised with how the story is constructed made more memorable and fun reading experience flanked with the original illustrations and the playful writing.Now I know why most people who have read this book told me it’s the best book they have read their entire lives!

I've loved this book for years and have even purchased copies of this to gift my kids' friends on their birthdays. It's an evergreen story, perfect for every middle-grader who loves fantasy novels.

Mostly vocabulary and discussion questions for each chapter. Format is helpful as I design a chapter by chapter novel study for my students.

Arrived and I'm reading it now

It is a wonderful book. The tollbooth reminds me of the TARDIS from Dr. Who except the tollbooth takes you to the land of wisdom. I never knew that numbers and words could be that important to a person.