Teaching Word Play with The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

"There was once a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself--not just sometimes, but always," (Juster 9) The Phantom Tollbooth, first written in 1961, begins quite pointedly.

This surprising humor of the opening few lines continues on throughout the entire book.  This witty tale is about a boy named Milo who sat around thinking there was nothing to do.

One day when he returns from school he finds a tollbooth that sends him to the Kingdom of Wisdom that has the City of Digitopolis (where they believe that numbers are the most important) and City of Dictionopolis (where as you might have guessed they believe words are the most important).

After Milo has several encounters with very intriguing characters like the watchdog named Tock (he has a clock in the middle of him that goes tick, tick tick while his brother Tick has a clock that goes tock, tock, tock), he sets off on a difficult task to rescue the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason from banishment.

This twist on the fairy tale of rescuing the princess has word play throughout.

The author takes expressions that are common and twists them to mean literally what they are.  For example, one of my favorite instances was when Milo ran into a boy who was only half a boy--the left side.

The boy corrects Milo that he is not half a boy but .58 to be exact.  He then goes on to say he is from an average family, and average families have 2.58 children.  He just happened to be the .58 part.

This word play can even be fun for adults reading to children.  Quite honestly, I do not think that children (especially younger ones) will get the little clever details; however, I do think that even the youngest child can understand this fantasy adventure, especially with an adult scaffolding the child's learning.

At times, I felt that the story was sacrificed to be able to include these word plays, and I really wish that the bad guys had not been called demons.

However, I still really enjoyed it.  I read it out loud to my mom on a road trip, and we were laughing at certain points.  It certainly made our trip that much more enjoyable.  I would recommend this book especially to those lovers of puns out there.