Std 5 English Lesson 22 A Book Review

Things to do

Activity

Write a short book review of any one of your favourite books.

Your review should include the following things.

Title : The Phantom Tollbooth

Name of the author: Norton Juster

Name of the illustrator: Mel Grant

The central idea of the book (what the book is about): It is about being educated and why they make us learn all the strange things at school

The important characters in the book and what they do:

  • Milo: a school-aged boy, the main character, bored with life prior to receiving the gifts
  • Tock: a “watchdog” (with an alarm-clock in his body) who befriends Milo after saving him from the Doldrums.
  • The Humbug: a pompous insect who joins Milo and Tock on their quest.
  • King Azaz: the King of Dictionopolis, one of the two rulers of Wisdom.
  • The Mathemagician:  Azaz’s brother and the other ruler of Wisdom. He rules the city of Digitopolis.
  • Rhyme and Reason: two princesses who settled disputes.
  • Faintly Macabre: the Not-So-Wicked Which.
  • Alec Bings:  a boy of Milo’s age and weight who sees through things
  • Chroma: conductor of an orchestra that plays all the world’s colors.
  • Dischord : a scientist who enjoys creating unpleasant sounds, and curing pleasant sounds.
  • Dynne: a genie who collects noises for Dr. Dischord.
  • The Soundkeeper: who loves silence, rules the Valley of Sound. Her vaults keep all the sounds ever made in history.
  • The Dodecahedron:  an inhabitant of Digitopolis with twelve faces, each of which shows a different emotion.
  • The Everpresent Wordsnatcher: a dirty bird that “takes the words right out of your mouth”.
  • The Terrible Trivium: a demon in the Mountains of Ignorance who wastes time with useless – or “trivial” – jobs.
  • The Demon of Insincerity: a misleading demon who never says what he means.
  • The Gelatinous Giant: a demon who blends in with his surroundings and is afraid of everything, mostly ideas.
  • The Senses Taker: a demon who robs Milo, the Humbug, and Tock of their senses by wasting their time and asking useless questions.
  • Officer Shrift: a very short man, the police force of Dictionopolis.
  • The Whether Man: who deals with whether there will be weather, rather than the specific nature of the weather.
  • The Lethargians:  lethargically small, mischievous creatures who live in the Doldrums and are irresponsibly lazy.
  • The Spelling Bee: an expert speller, but sometimes an enemy of the Humbug.

What you like about the book: It is funny and adventurous at the same time.

Why you want others to read the book/ what you learn from the book: It is a journey that we undertake along with Milo. And as we journey along we also reflect on the realities of life and education.

To buy the book click on the link below:

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