The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my all-time favorite books for kids. The annotated version, however, is probably of more interest to adults. Includes lots of great background information on the author and illustrator as well as detailed notes on the text of the story. Hours and hours of great reading about this fun story!
5 out of 5 stars
Accelerated Reader level of 6.7 for the original story.
Recommended for: fans of the original story, teachers, writers and illustrators who like to read about the works of other artists.
Milo is bored, bored, bored. Nothing around him is of any interest and he just wanders aimlessly from moment to moment until he discovers an unexpected gift in his bedroom - a toll booth. He assembles the booth, drives his little car through and finds himself in an unusual land. Through his adventures, Milo makes some unusual friends and learns some things about himself along the way.
This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. I recently purchased the audio version (read by David Hyde Pierce) to listen to in the car. I wasn't sure if my son would like it as he is still a little young for the book, and the vocabulary in the book is difficult. But he laughed along at the silly creatures and situations that Milo gets into. My husband, who never read the book and has never shared my enthusiasm for it, even laughed at parts and groaned at some of the great puns. This is a classic that I look forward to reading (and hearing) over and over again.
