For October they read The Graveyard Book by the award-winning, best-selling author Neil Gaiman. For November ... drum roll please ... They've selected a book that's celebrating a big anniversary: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. The book was published in 1961; five decades later, it is still much loved and widely read. And, after all this time, the story of the bored little boy who travels on a journey to the Lands Beyond still feels fresh. The jokes are still funny. The language is still captivating. And the excursions through the Sea of Knowledge, the Mountains of Ignorance and the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping) are still quite magical. That's saying something when you consider that The Phantom Tollbooth was written before the age of computers, cellphones or digital watches.
Since this book has had such great staying power, chances are your parents or other relatives may have read The Phantom Tollbooth when they were young. That makes this a great choice for a family read. Also, the language is so delicious that you might want to read this book out loud with friend or a buddy. In any case, enjoy — and then join in the conversation.
One last thing: If it's OK with your parents, please ask them to email a picture of you reading The Phantom Tollbooth to backseatbookclub@npr.org. We just might post some of those photos on our upcoming readers gallery.
