The Phantom Tollbooth

One of the best things about parenthood is reliving all the little things you loved as a kid. I'm not entirely sure how this book came into my life because, truthfully, my parents worked all the time and weren't introducing these kinds of things to me. Nonetheless, one of my favorite stories and author/illustrator combos is Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer for The Phantom Tollbooth. A story about wordplay, curiosity, critical thinking, and fighting boredom - clever and fun much like Roald Dahl. I didn't realize how cool and smart this story was until I looked back as an adult.

Double whammy is the feature-length film version directed by Chuck Jones (of THE Tom & Jerry's golden years). The part live-action to animation style is so good and such a good watch.