The Phantom Toolbooth: An Oldie-But-A-Goodie

The Phantom Toolbooth by Norton Juster
with illustrations by Jules Feiffer

Why did I read it?

Because a friend told me to lol.

What happened?

Milo is a kid who doesn't know what to do with himself...ever. He comments, "there's nothing for me to do, nowhere I'd care to go, and hardly anything worth seeing." That is, until a magical toolbooth appears in his room, and takes him to the Lands Beyond and the Kingdom of Knowledge.

As it turns out, these lands have become troubled of late. In the golden age of the Kingdom of Knowledge, a wise king fought back the demons of ignorance and set up a glorious kingdom...but it wasn't to last. His two sons, King Azaz of Dictionopolis and the Mathemagician of Digitopolis, constantly bickered over the superiority of words or numbers. They eventually banished their step-sisters, Rhyme and Reason, and the kingdom quickly fell into disrepair, disorder, and chaos.

For instance, some of the inhabitants never took the time to look around, so their town slowly vanished without them even noticing..another group had fallen into absolute silence because they could no longer appreciate beautiful sounds...and some miners only ate when they're full and didn't stop until they were hungry...

But, there might be hope for the Kingdom of Knowledge. A newly curious boy from another world, a faithful and literal watchdog (a dog with a watch for a body), and an adult-sized Humbug are struggling and bungling their way through this broken world...and they don't seem to know any better than to save the world by turning it right-side up again.

What did I like or not like?

This book is the definition of an oldie-but-a-goodie. The book was first published in 1961, but its metaphorical lessons on not taking things for granted, learning as a noble pursuit, and putting importance on what is actually important will resonate with readers of all ages.

As the synopsis hints at, this book is full of pithy sayings, anthropomorphic concepts, and fantastic puns, and it's way too much fun to read. If you haven't read this book before, stop what you are doing and start reading it right now. If you have read it before, stop what you are doing and read it again =D