My family just finished listening to this book on audio, and what a trip! The story is that of young Milo, a bored, unmotivated, lazy, lackluster student who dislikes school and just about everything. One day, a tollbooth appears in his bedroom and magically takes him off on an adventure in a far away land of fantasy and learning.
The feel of this book, right off the bat, is that of Alice in Wonderland meets Dr. Seuss meets “anything on PBS.” It’s a wild and whimsical world, yet it teaches. It’s utter nonsense, yet it comes at you in an unmistakably clear way.
The land to which Milo travels is made up of such locations as Digitopolis ruled by the Mathemagician, and his brother Azaz’s city, Dictionoplis. The former favors Numbers, while the latter favors Letters, but that’s not all. There’s also the land of Sight, where Chroma the Great reins, and the land of Sound, where Dr. Discord and his Din do their noisy work. This world sadly lacks harmony, despite its close proximity to Wisdom, because two sisters, Rhyme and Reason, have been taken and lost in the land of Ignorance. It becomes Milo’s quest to rescue these sisters, and thankfully, he has the help of Tock and the bumbling Hum Bug.
As a father listening to this book which I got for my kids to endure long car rides, I found myself listening to this story at a different frequency then they. I recognized the pure nonsense of the dialogue, which often made me laugh for its sheer cleverness (I especially loved the bird who lived out of Context and took the words right out of people’s mouth!). In fact, there were several occasions where I paused the CD to repeat a particularly clever line or two, just to make sure my kids heard and understood it. I had never heard of Norton Juster before, but he’s apparently a master at word play.
Another aspect of this masterful wordplay was how virtually every aspect of this special world was based off the literal interpretation of some English idiom. I once taught a whole semester of idioms in an English class in Asia, so I love them and the roots from which they spring. To create an entire world where such idioms come to life in the ears of a child? Genius. I just wonder what in the world translators would do with a such piece as this, supposing the publishers want to spread it to new languages. Good luck with that!
We all really enjoyed this book. My son (8) even called it “The best book ever!” I’d recommend it, but parents and children alike, read it with your thinking cap on. Also, since this story includes such a vast, make-believe world with so many unique characters, I highly recommend you find the audio version. It’s really a fun ride.
©2020 E.T.