The Phantom Tollbooth

Norton Juster

Jan 2011 · Knopf Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

“Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet.” --Phillip Pullman, New York Times bestselling author of His Dark Materials 

With almost 5 million copies sold in the 60 years since it was published, generations of readers have journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic.

Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever.  For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. 

Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!

Ratings and reviews

This book literally changed the way I think. Thirty years later, my imagination and the way I approach problems are still influenced by the lessons I learned from reading it. I cannot even begin to describe it without turning this review into a sprawling essay. All I'll say is, it's never too late, and rarely could it be called too early. Read it, pass it on. Only good can come of it, of this I am certain.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I didn't read it for the first time until I was in my 30s. My husband talked about reading it when he was a child and how much he loved it so I bought it for him as a Christmas present one year. I knew I loved it after the first few lines. It kills me to hear people refer to it as just a children's book. It's so much more than that. Page after page of lessons FOR ADULTS. More than anything it is more creative and magical than I could have ever imagined.

I've been reading this book every few years since I was about 7, at first glance it was an imaginative story about a boy making his way through obstacles with wordy characters; now as an adult I've come to see it as a story with use of metaphors with underlying themes involving life's great lessons. With each character in unique situational perspective, Milo learns to apply their solutions to his own life. Its end holds the ultimate key to any solution.

About the author

Norton Juster was an architect and planner, professor emeritus of design at Hampshire College, and the author of a number of highly acclaimed children's books, including The Dot and the Line, which was made into an Academy Award-winning animated film. He collaborated with Sheldon Harnick on the libretto for an opera based on The Phantom Tollbooth. The musical adaptation, with a score by Arnold Black, premiered in 1995 and is performed in schools and theaters nationwide. 


Jules Feiffer is the author of several books for young readers, including The Man in the Ceiling and A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears, I Lost My Bear, Bark, George, and Meanwhile.... He has won a number of prizes for his cartoons, plays, and screenplays. Mr. Feiffer lives in New York City.