i know i say it all the time, but if you haven't read it, READ IT, and if you have read it, read it again. it's only more awesome and fun as a growdup. i'm, of course, talking about norton juster's THE PHANTOM (em-eff-ing) TOLLBOOTH.
this SUPER FREAKING AWESOME NOVEL was intended, clearly, to teach kids about words and math and silliness. the world is boring. milo drives through the mysterious tollbooth, and SHAZAM, the world is ridiculous. not unlike what alice encounters in wonderland, in, yanno, alice in wonderland. and similarly, milo feels he's the only sane one in the place. however, like alice, he learns much more than he bargained for.
to wit:
'Pardon me for staring,' said Milo, after he had been staring for quite some time, 'but I've never seen half a child before.'
'It's .58 to be precise,' replied the child from the left side of his mouth (which happened to be the only side of his mouth).
'I beg your pardon?' said Milo.
'It's .58,' he repeated; 'it's a little bit more than a half.'
'Have you always been that way?' asked Milo impatiently, for he felt that that was a needlessly fine distinction.
'My goodness, no,' the child assured him. 'A few years ago I was just .42 and, believe me, that was terribly inconvenient.'
'What is the rest of your family like?' said Milo, this time a bit more sympathetically.
'Oh, we're just the average family,' he said thoughtfully; "mother, father, and 2.58 children - and, as I explained, I'm the .58.'
it continues into hilarity and awesomocity, of course, but i'll let you discover (/rediscover) that on your own. Milo also jumps to Conclusions (an island), and learns that both math and words can be quite confusing. 'only when you use a lot to say a little,' as the watchdog Tock tells him (don't ask why he's not called Tick). also, the fun of puns taken seriously can make both kids and adults titter with 'zomgz.'i've absotively no idea when i first read this book. i know it stuck on me like glue, and i know my buddy Milo was named after the main character, and i know that plays on words have always made me laugh (and feel smart). i know the illustrator made me comfortable because the illustrations of jules feiffer reminded me of the illustrations of quentin blake's illustrations in roald dahl's novels...(you know, charlie and the chocolate factory, matilda, the bfg...)
aaaaanyway. the book is based on puns, which i freaking love, so, so should you. soso. he saves princesses! their names are Rhyme and Reason! for cryin out loud. ok, anywho. basically, zelda beta, for wordnerds, times a billion, the book. ready, GO.
