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Ezra McNair 3/13/12 Reading/writing The Phantom Tollbooth I read the Phantom Tollbooth as my book report book. It was written by Norton Juster. I thought it was a fantasy novel because it had a lot of “magic”. On catchy scene is when Milo steps into the tollbooth and emerges into a world unlike any other. The Phantom Tollbooth is about a boy named Milo who is transported to another world. This world was controlled by rhyme and reason. They were two actual people. They kept it in order. There were two kings who were divided. One was crazy about math and the other was crazy about words and books. The two would always argue and Rhyme and Reason intervened and said that words and numbers are of equal value. The two kings were angry at this so they banished the two sisters. Milo learned this and decided to save Rhyme and Reason. After befriending a dog named Tock, Milo goes to the city of King Azaz. He was the king who thought words were more important than numbers. Milo convinced the King that the world was unbalanced without Rhyme and Reason and the King agreed to let them go. But Milo had to get the Mathemagician’s approval. So, Milo set out with Tock, and a cricket named the Humbug. After traversing many islands and plateaus, they finally find Digitopolis. The Mathemagician does not agree to let Milo save Rhyme and Reason. He said that everything he agrees on Azaz disagrees. So, Milo tells him that that King Azaz said the same thing. Seeing that he had been tricked, the Mathemagician sent Milo on his way. After passing through a mountain filled with demons and a weird bird, they take a much needed rest break. The mountain starts talking to them. It says its name is Gelanus the giant. They tell him that they need to get to the fortress in the sky. He has them step into his hand and he puts them in the fortress. They find Rhyme and Reason calmly sitting at a table. They hear the demons coming behind them and they grab Rhyme and Reason and leave. They make a narrow escape from the demons and head back to the city of king Azaz. The people of the city cheer. Before the parades start, Milo is told he must go home. Reluctantly, he says bye to all his friends. The tollbooth appears and he goes through it and finds himself in his room. What I liked about this book. I thought the book was a mix of Alice in Wonderland and The Hobbit. There is only action at the end and there is really no suspense. You could tell the author tried to make it suspenseful, but he did a poor job of it. What I liked was how Milo (the main character) changes. He used to be weak, dull, little boy. Then, slowly, he changes into a brave, strong, adult. The ending was not a surprise at all. You knew that Milo was going home from the start. The author’s writing style was not anything special. He wrote like a normal person. Despite a few flaws, I thought this was a very great book. The Theme. The theme of this book was kind of like this: life is an adventure. That’s what Milo learns at the end of the book.