Q & A about The Phantom Tollbooth

This month I interview my daughter about Norton Juster's "The Phantom Toolbooth."

You’ve been engrossed in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Frequently when I’ve asked you about it you’ve told me that it's too hard to explain. Now that you’ve finished it I’d like to interview you.

Julia: It may be easier to explain that I thought. The main character's name is Milo, he's in school. It all begins with kind of a character summary of Milo; he has a dull way of looking at things. He thinks everything is boring, and he doesn't find anything interesting at all. He finds school annoying. One day he's walking home from school and he walks into his room and finds this big package.

Was there a return address on this mysterious package?

Julia: No, and he's confused because he only ever gets presents on either Christmas or his birthday. And he doesn’t remember being extremely good either. He opens up the box and finds a lot of supplies and instructions for a tollbooth. He decides to put it together and a little car comes with it.

How big?

Julia: Reasonable size, pretty big. He decides to drive through it and then all of a sudden he's driving on a road that he doesn't recognize.

It’s a magical story?

Julia: Oh, yes. He meets many strange people along the way, so many that they're hard to keep track of.

What was your favorite person he met in the other world?

Julia: The Mathemagician! He's very hard to explain. Each of the people he met had different interests and beliefs but all of them taught him some lessons he could use in his daily life. Milo is going on these adventures and his way of thinking is changing.

Are there talking animals?

Julia: Yes, there are animals and creatures that talk.

Are there monsters?

Julia: Near the end of the book, Milo had to rescue these two princesses named Rhyme and Reason, and on the way he meets different types of monsters. At first they seem perfectly normal and friendly to Milo, but they were monsters.

How does it end?

Julia: When he comes back from the strange world, he’s so tired he just goes to sleep right away. When he wakes up in the morning, the tollbooth is gone and he finds this letter. The letter explains why the tollbooth has disappeared. Because lots of other boys and girls needed to use it. He’s sad at first, but when he looks out the window, he realizes so many things he hasn't realized before. He was blind in the beginning to everything around him. The world is beautiful to him now. The tollbooth helped him realize that.

Maybe the Phantom Tollbooth is like a book where you have some imaginary experiences that help you figure out how to live.

Julia: Yes, I suppose it is.

Would you recommend this book to kids?

Julia: Yes! Actually, I was in the bookstore with my aunt and I came across the book. My aunt said that it was my cousin's favorite book. I decided to give it a go, and it turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read!