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Meet The Readers In NPR's Backseat Book Club

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November 14, 2011

This November, young readers across the country are taking a trip to the Lands Beyond with Milo, Tock and Humbug in Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. To help us all get to know one another better, we asked book club members to send in photos of themselves reading this month's book. Click through the gallery to meet some of the readers in NPR's Backseat Book Club:

  • Megan Monaghan's fifth grade class at St. Hilda's & St.Hugh's elementary school in New York City is loving The Phantom Tollbooth.
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    Megan Monaghan's fifth grade class at St. Hilda's & St.Hugh's elementary school in New York City is loving The Phantom Tollbooth.
  • Chilis the cat keeps Isabella Farr, 8, company while she reads.
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    Chilis the cat keeps Isabella Farr, 8, company while she reads.
  • From left: Carina Jaffe, 3; Larissa Jaffe, 9; Denali Jaffe, 10; Zahra Jaffe, 6; and their friend Christina Tonnu, 8, read The Phantom Tollbooth together in Philadelphia.
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    From left: Carina Jaffe, 3; Larissa Jaffe, 9; Denali Jaffe, 10; Zahra Jaffe, 6; and their friend Christina Tonnu, 8, read The Phantom Tollbooth together in Philadelphia.
  • Alexander Tagliani, 9, reads from his perch in Beverly, MA.
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    Alexander Tagliani, 9, reads from his perch in Beverly, MA.
  • Thomas Bedell, 9, of Milford, Pa., read The Phantom Tolbooth last year and made a float about the book for his school reading parade. He says he's curious to know how author Norton Juster came up with the creative character names.
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    Thomas Bedell, 9, of Milford, Pa., read The Phantom Tolbooth last year and made a float about the book for his school reading parade. He says he's curious to know how author Norton Juster came up with the creative character names.
  • Sienna Jenya Paley, 11, of East Thetford, Vt., likes "KOFONOUS A. DISCHORD, DOCTOR OF DISSONANCE" and his neatly labeled bottles of noise. She is also very fond of Alec Bings, the boy who floats midair and whose feet won't reach the ground until he grows up — or rather, down.
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    Sienna Jenya Paley, 11, of East Thetford, Vt., likes "KOFONOUS A. DISCHORD, DOCTOR OF DISSONANCE" and his neatly labeled bottles of noise. She is also very fond of Alec Bings, the boy who floats midair and whose feet won't reach the ground until he grows up — or rather, down.
  • Fifth graders at The UCLA Lab School play a board game they created inspired by The Phantom Tollbooth. From left: Marie Chorpita, Graham Campbell, Ryan Martin and Claire Kaplan.
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    Fifth graders at The UCLA Lab School play a board game they created inspired by The Phantom Tollbooth. From left: Marie Chorpita, Graham Campbell, Ryan Martin and Claire Kaplan.
  • Lucia Kasper, 6, sits in her favorite reading spot at her home in Hiram, Ohio. In the past few weeks, she has read The Phantom Tollbooth three times.
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    Lucia Kasper, 6, sits in her favorite reading spot at her home in Hiram, Ohio. In the past few weeks, she has read The Phantom Tollbooth three times.
  • When it comes to learning and reading, Margaret Boudreaux tells her fifth grade Language Arts class at the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge to "get in the driver's seat."
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    When it comes to learning and reading, Margaret Boudreaux tells her fifth grade Language Arts class at the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge to "get in the driver's seat."
  • Sophie Hopp, 8, of Maple Valley, Wash., is reading The Phantom Tollbooth for the first time — it was one of her older brother's favorite books.
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    Sophie Hopp, 8, of Maple Valley, Wash., is reading The Phantom Tollbooth for the first time — it was one of her older brother's favorite books.
  • April Caswell of Purcellville, Va., reports that her students are "delightedly zipping through The Phantom Tollbooth."
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    April Caswell of Purcellville, Va., reports that her students are "delightedly zipping through The Phantom Tollbooth."
  • Oscar Backes, 9, of Lawrenceville, N.J., says his favorite character is Tock the Watchdog "because he has an interesting history." His favorite part of the book is when Milo, Tock and Humbug jump to the Island of Conclusions. "I like the pun," Oscar says.
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    Oscar Backes, 9, of Lawrenceville, N.J., says his favorite character is Tock the Watchdog "because he has an interesting history." His favorite part of the book is when Milo, Tock and Humbug jump to the Island of Conclusions. "I like the pun," Oscar says.
  • Rory Pennington, 8, relaxes with The Phantom Tollbooth at home in Jacksonville, Fla.
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    Rory Pennington, 8, relaxes with The Phantom Tollbooth at home in Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Brothers Adin (left) and Julian H., who live in the Westchester district of Los Angeles, read The Phantom Tollbooth over breakfast.
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    Brothers Adin (left) and Julian H., who live in the Westchester district of Los Angeles, read The Phantom Tollbooth over breakfast.
  • Grace Niekamp, 9, of Dublin, Ohio, says, "I like the Whether Man because he's confusing and funny like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, and I like confusing things."
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    Grace Niekamp, 9, of Dublin, Ohio, says, "I like the Whether Man because he's confusing and funny like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, and I like confusing things."
  • Sally Rogal, 9, and Max Rogal, 10, live in Potomac, Md. Sally's favorite character is the Spelling Bee and Max's is the Whether Man. Their little brother Eliot, 5, is also reading the book; he has just arrived in Dictionopolis.
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    Sally Rogal, 9, and Max Rogal, 10, live in Potomac, Md. Sally's favorite character is the Spelling Bee and Max's is the Whether Man. Their little brother Eliot, 5, is also reading the book; he has just arrived in Dictionopolis.
  • Jack Stuart, 8, of Wauwatosa, Wis., is a second-generation Phantom Tollbooth reader. "I loved it as a kid, and thought he would love it too," says his mother, Heather Stuart. Jack's favorite character is the Spelling Bee, and he says he likes the book because it's an adventure.
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    Jack Stuart, 8, of Wauwatosa, Wis., is a second-generation Phantom Tollbooth reader. "I loved it as a kid, and thought he would love it too," says his mother, Heather Stuart. Jack's favorite character is the Spelling Bee, and he says he likes the book because it's an adventure.

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About NPR's Backseat Book Club: If you're a kid who likes to read, we want to hear from you! Every month, we'll pick a Book Club selection. We hope you'll read it and send in your questions. At month's end, we'll put some of your questions to the book's author during our afternoon radio program, All Things Considered.

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