This book was written before I was born. I never came across it in my younger years. As a mother, with five boys/reluctant readers, I was always on the lookout for books that might appeal to them. That's when I found this book ... a physical copy on my bookshelf, that never ended up being read by the boys, or by me. Until #middlegradeMay2025 ... I was making a real goal to read any of the books that (having survived purges over the years) were on my home shelves, unread.

While I had the physical book in hand, I borrowed the audio (narrated by "Dwight" from The Office) and Kindle copy from the library. I went primarily with the audio (more ear time than eye time). As so much time has passed since the first publication, there are special re-released editions with some extras. The Kindle had a bunch of "appreciations" author's little write-ups about their connections with the book, the audio had an intro by the author - read by the author, which I appreciate! It makes it so much more personal ... and even there in the introduction I found myself smiling and laughing a little. This intro is in the Kindle copy, the "appreciations" afterward in Kindle weren't added to the audiobook).

One thing I LOVE about older books ... the physical book has a Table of Contents. Most fiction published today doesn't deign to add one (still in audiobooks and Kindle copy to facilitate moving through the book, but that goes for a physical book too!) 20 chapters, each with descriptive headers. I love finishing up the book, looking over the TOC and seeing what memories the headers alone can nudge. 1. Milo 2. Beyond Expectations 3. Welcome to Dictionopolis 4. Confusion in the Market Place 5. Short Shrift 6. Faintly Macabre’s Story 7. The Royal Banquet 8. The Humbug Volunteers 9. It’s All in How You Look at Things 10. A Colorful Symphony 11. Dischord and Dynne 12. The Silent Valley 13. Unfortunate Conclusions 14. The Dodecahedron Leads the Way 15. This Way to Infinity 16. A Very Dirty Bird 17. Unwelcoming Committee 18. Castle in the Air 19. The Return of Rhyme and Reason 20. Good-by and Hello

While this wasn't the most wonderful "story" ... really it's an imaginative adventure, it was so chock full of puns, alliteration, word play, that I was giggling much of the time. I'm a fan of all that. Consider the cover, the dog with a clock in its body ... it's a "watchdog" ... and the dog can fly a little, because "time flies". There is a spelling BEE, a HUM Bug ... the characters jump TO conclusions (a place) and then can't get off it (because you jump to conclusions, not away from them). There are too many to mention. This book includes almost every play on words imaginable, adds oodles of awesome alliteration, jokes and rhymes. Due to the book being a bit dated, and children not learning some of the sayings and puns until they are older, I would imagine that many things might be missed by a younger audience, and appreciated MORE by adults. And still, if by chance a book club were to read a middle-grade book, there still could be some topics for discussion (I googled and found these ... https://allscifiallthetime.com/the-ph... )

I'm not positive this is one my boys would have appreciated - but I might have to check with my punny brother to see if he's read this!