On the surface, the style of the story seems incredibly simple: almost like the sparse narration from a fairytale or a fable. However, if you look more closely you’ll find Juster uses some incredibly complicated words (Faintly Macabre, anyone?) considering he was writing for children.
Do you think it’s good to give younger readers words they might have to go and look up or to include wordplay they might not get until re-reading the book as an adult?? More broadly, do you like a book to use overly complicated or obscure words just for the effect or do you like an author to tell it like it is? After all, George Orwell once made
one of his rules for writing.Never use a long word when a short one will do
Remember to use spoiler tags when discussing specifics of the plot
