The Phantom Tollbooth
Juster, N. (1961). The phantom tollbooth. New York:
Yearling.
Like our previous weeks reading with
Alice’s adventures and A Tangled Tale, The Phantom Tollbooth was another
fantasy tale with a child using his imagination to form something fun out of
his “boring” life. Unlike the previous week’s reading, The Phantom Tollbooth
was much more interesting and engaging from a reader’s point of view. It was
less difficult to follow the plot and the constant change of scenery and
locations kept me interested into what place Milo and his companions would be
at next.
The obstacles that Milo faced while
trying to reach his goal of freeing the princesses represented in my mind,
obstacles that any child or person would face when trying to make a dream into
a reality. The idea of overcoming those obstacles and persevering to your goal
is something that students can take from this book. Each time Milo was faced
with a new obstacle such as the senses taker or the valley of sound, it seems
hopeless that he could overcome this and continue down the path to the release
of the princesses. However, with each obstacle presented to Milo, he finds a
way around it and eventually is able to reach the princesses.
I think this book provides an
important lesson to any students who read it about making your goals come true.
It shows that with any worthwhile goal, there are going to be very difficult
obstacles that lay in your path. No difficult goal is going to just be given to
you because you want it but with determination and the will to make it happen,
you can make any dream or goal into a reality. This reminded me of one of my
favorite quotes that was said by a coach that I once had:
“In
order to achieve your goal, you can’t want it to happen, you can’t wish it to
happen, you have to MAKE IT HAPPEN!”
I think this book would be a better
choice to use in a classroom than either of the two previous books we read. I
thought it was easier to follow along with the plot and would be easier for the
students to relate to and make connections with than the other two books. I
think it teaches a good lesson with dreaming and overcoming whatever is put in
your path for your goal.
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