The Phantom Tollbooth

“So much fun with language and semiotics. Wonderfully weird.”

“My third-favorite book is a book for children, because I was once a child. I didn’t grow up around books, but for whatever reason a copy of this book made its way into my life. The Phantom Tollbooth is a cute educational romp through a fantasyland designed to teach the importance of imagination and industriousness, but it was my fantasyland. I have no doubt that some portion of my love of wordplay and whimsy comes directly from this book. To quote Juster: For kids, there are no difficult words, only words they haven’t met yet.”

“a childhood classic: lots of wordplay; a little boy on an adventure; very literary and also very imaginative. i remember jokes and metaphors from this book all the time; extremely cute”