The Phantom Tollbooth

Who doesn't love The Phantom Tollbooth? People who've never read it, that's who.

The plot is fairly simple. Milo is a chronically bored young boy who can't find anything worth being interested in the world around him. One day, a mysterious tollbooth arrives in his room. With nothing better to do, he constructs it and drives through. He quickly finds himself beyond expectations, journeying through Dictionopolis (where he learns the importance of words) and Digitopolis (where he learns about numbers). He also makes stops in the Valley of Sound and the Forest of Sight. Eventually he and his newfound friends, Tock the Watchdog and the Humbug, brave the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the Princesses Rhyme and Reason and restore peace to the realm.

I first read this book for school in the sixth grade for a school assignment. It's one of those books where the little details just sort of stick with you. Like the dodecahedron, or the Giant/Dwarf/Fat Man/Thin Man. Or subtraction stew.

I'm fairly certain that this is the book that introduced me to the concept of infinity in a way that I really understood it. I also think the Deep Thought took the mathemagicians advice when computing the answer to life, the universe, and everything:
"That may be true," he acknowledged, "but it's completely accurate. As long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong?"
 This is a book about the joy of curiosity. The dangers Milo faces involve things like jumping to conclusions and forgetting to think. The demons ask pointless questions and force him to perform menial tasks and otherwise waste his time (which you'd think the watchdog would be a bit more attuned to). But whenever Milo asks questions he gets answers, and when he tried to satisfy his curiosity he has wonderful adventures.

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