"It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time," Milo remarks glumly. But his glumness soon turns to surprise when he finds in his bedroom an enormous package marked: "One Genuine Turnpike Tollbooth".

Having nothing better to do, Milo points his little car towards the strange land that lies beyond the Phantom Tollbooth - the Kingdom of Wisdom. Before he knows what he is doing he volunteers to rescue the banished princesses, Rhyme and Reason, from their Castle in the Air. The stairway to the Castle is guarded by fierce demons, and the road leading to it is full of extraordinary and unexpected hazards. Is Milo quick enough to leave the Demons of Ignorance behind, and cunning enough to outwit - among others - the Terrible Trivium? Along the way Milo discovers that he must eat his own words at a banquet in Dictionopolis, but it is a tasteless meal!

This is a delightful and, above all else, clever (!) book. It is often taken to task because of its didactic tone and its sophisticated wordplay and humour; but the book is so imaginative and so full of character and entertainment that Juster must be forgiven.