June-July Reading Dates

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your great input about "The Phantom Tollbooth."  I enjoyed seeing what you all thought about the book.

Our next read will be "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

The discussion for this book will start July 27th.  Happy reading! :)

"The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

I love "Alice in Wonderland."  It is one of my favorite books.  I found "The Phantom Tollbooth" to be in a similar category as "Alice in Wonderland."  One of the things I particularly liked about "The Phantom Tollbooth" in contrast to "Alice in Wonderland" was the sense of purpose in Milo's journey.  Alice's only quest was to find The White Rabbit, which leads to a sort of senseless adventure, whereas Milo sets out to save the Princesses Rhyme and Reason - learning all sorts of things along the way.  By the end of his journey, Milo has a new appreciation for things he used to not care about...numbers, words, sounds, etc.  Milo's journey helps him (and us) to find the beauty in everything, particularly the small things.  It showed him (and us) just how much time we waste everyday doing nothing.  I loved at the end of the book when he realized he had been gone for only an hour and it says how he had never realized how much he could do in such a short time.  And on top of that, when it said he would like to go back, but he was too busy with all the things to do and see and hear right in his own world.

The quirky characters in this book were so fun and likable.  I felt instantly connected with Tock and grew very fond of the HumBug. I was very impressed with the creativity of Juster in coming up with all the characters; people who grow down instead of up, the terrible Dynne, the orchestra that plays the colors...the eccentric mix of people really made this book enjoyable.

Juster's use of words was also very impressive - and very entertaining.  One example that comes immediately to mind is the Which/Witch.  The play on words in this book was very clever.

I think this book is an excellent read for people of all ages.  It has that fun, whimsical feel of "Alice in Wonderland" for children but is also equipped with plenty humor for the educated adult.  I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

What did you think?