Posted by abel on October 26, 19103 at 09:41:54:
Hello all:
I'm looking for a book I read when I was in fifth or sixth grade. Here's what I remember about it:
-The main character was a boy. He is traveling through a fantasy world. There is a land of letters and a land of numbers, and each has a wizard in it(?).
-On one occasion, the boy and two others travelling with him were forced to do absurd tasks(empty a well one drop at a time, dig a hole with a spoon)
-At one point, there is a cannon that needs to be loaded with a word. The boy was about to respond to someone but was left with the word in his mouth - literally. He loads the cannon with the word(there is an illustration of this if I recall correctly).
-There is a mine where numbers are dug out of. When the boy asks what the biggest number that exists is, they show him a huge numeral. He rephrases his question, and they explain to him that one can count on indefinitely. Same thing with the smallest number.
-At one point, two characters state that they never agree on anything. The boy challenges this by saying that the two were in perfect agreement on the fact that they would never agree on anything.
I hope this helps. Thank you very much for the search.