Here is it, folks. The beginning of the end. We have reached the top 10 books on our list of the top 100 children’s books. And let me tell you, it is all uphill from here. For those of you who are ambitious and want to be reminded that great literature exists in the form of children’s novels, I encourage you to read along as I finish out my challenge. Just click on the link above labeled Top 100 Challenge Archive to find the list of the top 10 books and start reading. I will be finishing out this challenge during the month of May, just so you know the timeframe you are working with. Feel free to comment if you are joining me in reading these last ten.
Today, however, I am highlighting an eclectic novel. Could it be described as eclectic? Or maybe it’s just different. Or maybe it’s just pure amazingness (definitely not a word). The Phantom Tollbooth incorporates imagination, boredom, geography, math and the complicated nature of the English language. Like many great children’s books, it involves following the young main character on a journey of discovery and sometimes confusion. The creatures he meets along the way sometimes help or hinder him. He learns that there is a world outside his school and his home, a lesson every child should learn, whether through truth or imagination. With wit, the use of puns, and very strange characters, the author brings to life this world that Milo is discovering, making it real enough through words that we can experience it, too.
The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
Originally published in 1961
Kate
May 8, 2011 at 3:58 pm
I just recently saw the stage production of this book at my local theatre. I’ve been meaning to read the book because I’ve heard such good things about it.