One of the best things about teaching my kids now is watching them enjoy some of the very same books I loved as a kid. One of my first favorite novels was The Phantom Tollbooth -- I was fascinated by it so much that I even tried to write a sequel to it. (I was probably in about 3rd or 4th grade, so it was likely a very lame attempt... but I enjoyed the process anyway!)
Recently I was able to introduce Strider to Milo, the main character, and go on all the adventures with him, as we listened to the audio version on a car trip. I was nervous that it might not be as good as I remembered it, but when Strider started literally rolling around in the backseat because he was laughing so hard, I was satisfied. The book really is quite clever, and even slips in all kinds of grammatical phenomena and educational vocabulary. It's like the equivalent of the cooking method in which the chef hides all kinds of pureed vegetables in tasty dishes so the kids don't even know they're eating them. Just as I'm a fan (and practitioner) of this kind of cooking, so also do I enjoy watching the kids learn while they're in hysterics over a fantasy story.
So, I highly recommend this books for grade-school kids (probably 3rd grade or higher), as well as adults. (There are many cliches and phrases mentioned that only the adults are likely to catch the humor in.) And, as it turned out, the audio version was fabulous. We listened to one read by Norman Dietz and were amazed by how quickly he could switch between numerous voices. I see there is also a version read by David Hyde Pierce, and I imagine that would be terrific as well!
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