This much-loved classic is a fun book for younger readers. A tyrant named Black decrees that all occurrences of the letter "o" will be removed form the island of Ooroo. This causes widespread destruction and chas, in the midst of which Black and his accmplices are als n the hunt for treasure. In despair, sme lcals reslve t fight back to preserve things like lve, hnur and freedm.

Thurber has much fun with describing the chaos ensuing from the banishment of animals wiht "o" in their names, and the amendment of words like lose and loose so that they both become lse, for example. His prose is subtle and rhythmic, and some parts scan quite well as poetry, almost.
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A fun enjoyable fast read. I like the word play and allusions to other literary works. Simply a masterpiece. ( )

I'm just asking....

Was this Carl Sagan's favourite book when he was like eight? ( )

I enjoyed this childrens book. I like how James Thurber plays with words. I think other authors have borrowed from his technique.

Reread it for #1001 summerroadtrip, a tour through Ohio. Reading it this time, I kept having thoughts of how we are dropping letters a lot with our chatting via apps and on-line technology. Is the alphabet changing.

Thurber is a man who loved words. I did not know that he went blind. He hired Marc Simont to illustrate his book. I have a copy of the book with the illustrations by Marc Simont. Marc Simont is the winner of the Caldecott Medal.

The back cover tells us that two men visit the island of ooroo on the boat Aeiu in search of jewels. These men start taking away the freedoms of the inhabitants of Ooroo one thing at a time until there is nothing left but cnfusin and chas. The islanders decide that there are 4 words with O that must not be lost, do you know what the 4 words are? ( )

James Thurber is amazing. His 'children's' fables hold up the best of his ouvre. This might appeal to other fans of The Phantom Tollbooth. ( )