The Phantom Tollbooth

“I’m Alec Bings; I see through things. I can see whatever is inside, behind, around, covered by, or subsequent to anything else. In fact, the only thing I can’t see is whatever happens to be right in front of my nose.” “Isn’t that a little inconvenient?” asked Milo, whose neck was becoming quite stiff from looking up. “It is a little,” replied Alec

Of all the enchantments of beloved books, the most mysterious—the most phantasmal—is the way they always seem to come our way precisely when we need them.

“Are you the fattest thin man in the world?” asked Tock. “Do you know one that’s fatter?” he asked impatiently. “I think you’re all the same man,” said Milo emphatically. “S-S-S-S-S-H-H-H-H-H-H-H,” he cautioned, putting his finger up to his lips and drawing Milo closer. “Do you want to ruin everything? You see, to tall men I’m a midget, and to shor

Unifying it all, through arresting use of words and creative ideas, the book makes the reader stop and look. Look at a familiar phrase and find humor in what it literally means (“eat your words,” “jump to conclusions”). Look at a sunset and imagine it as a symphonic performance. Look at a statistical average and see both how ludicrous and yet how r

“All talk stopped. No words were sold, the market place closed down, and the people grew poor and disconsolate. When the king saw what had happened, he became furious and had me cast into this dungeon where you see me now, an older and wiser woman. “That was all many years ago,” she continued; “but they never appointed a new Which, and that explain

The sun was dropping slowly from sight, and stripes of purple and orange and crimson and gold piled themselves on top of the distant hills. The last shafts of light waited patiently for a flight of wrens to find their way home, and a group of anxious stars had already taken their places.

“But if all the roads arrive at the same place at the same time, then aren’t they all the right way?” asked Milo. “Certainly not!” he shouted, glaring from his most upset face. “They’re all the wrong way. Just because you have a choice, it doesn’t mean that any of them has to be right.”

“Slowly at first, and then in a rush, more people came to settle here and brought with them new ways and new sounds, some very beautiful and some less so. But everyone was so busy with the things that had to be done that they scarcely had time to listen at all. And, as you know, a sound which is not heard disappears forever and is not to be found a

And, in the very room in which he sat, there were books that could take you anywhere, and things to invent, and make, and build, and break, and all the puzzle and excitement of everything he didn’t know—music to play, songs to sing, and worlds to imagine and then someday make real. His thoughts darted eagerly about as everything looked new—and wort

“If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you’ll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won’t have the time. For there’s always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing, and if it weren’t for that dreadful magic staff, you’d never know how much time you were wasting.”