The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is a book that charms, or enchants, through the medium of that most unlikely form, allegory. A story about the return of Rhyme and Reason to the kingdom of Wisdom, which has languished since their exile, and about the reconciliation between words and numbers—stripped down to its essential structure, how dry it sounds, how cont

“They’ve all gone to dinner,” announced the Humbug weakly, “and just as soon as I catch my breath I shall join them.” “That’s ridiculous. How can they eat dinner right after a banquet?” asked Milo. “SCANDALOUS!” shouted the king. “We’ll put a stop to it at once. From now on, by royal command, everyone must eat dinner before the banquet.” “But that’

From Bev Walnoha

But it was not just the puns and wordplay that gave me a bad case of loving English. It was the words themselves: the vocabulary of the book. I can still, forty years later, remember my first encounters with the following words: macabre, din, dodecahedron, discord, trivium, lethargy. They are all, capitalized and adapted, characters in the novel. E

“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

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

The Phantom Tollbooth says something important and true. Rhyme and Reason are both necessary if we want to flourish. That’s something we can take in.

“Quite correct!” he shrieked triumphantly. “I am the Terrible Trivium, demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs, ogre of wasted effort, and monster of habit.”

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

“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