The Phantom Tollbooth [Hardcover]

Norton Juster (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House; 35th edition (1996)
• ISBN-10: 0394815009
• ISBN-13: 978-0394815008
• ASIN: B001LX9ZWO
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (641 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,258,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Norton Juster is 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 has 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 will soon be performed in schools and theaters nationwide. An amateur cook and professional eater, Mr. Juster lives with his wife in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The childhood favorite that's still with me, September 3, 2000

By 

Zagnorch (Terra, Sol System) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantom Tollbooth (Mass Market Paperback)

After my first reading of 'The Phantom Tollbooth', it became,and still remains, my favorite young reader book. I wrote two book reports on it for my middle school reading classes. I even received a copy of it as a tenth birthday present. Ever since, I've read it from cover to cover at least once a year.

As a child, I enjoyed reading the strange adventures of a bored Milo embarking on his legendary quest. As an adult, I enjoy the tome's play on words, such as the Whether man ("It's more important to know whether there will be weather, rather than what the weather will be") and the Isle of Conclusions, a place you have to jump to to get there. I also love the book's personifying such abstract concepts as statistics, like the (literally) half a child that Milo meets who's the end result of the average family having 2.58 children. It also has neat takes on people's points of view, like the boy who grows down, rather than up. Needless to say, it's pretty apparent that even though I loved this book as a kid, I appreciate it much more as an adult.

If you remember reading this as a child, I strongly recommend you give it a look again. You'll likely pick up on quite a few things in the story that you might not have gotten the gist of in your youth!

'Late

102 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable classic of great originality., June 30, 2000

By 

E. Chen (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Phantom Tollbooth (Paperback)

I first had this book read to me by my third grade teacher, and begged my mother to buy it for me soon thereafter, that I might read it for myself. It was my first "favorite book" (for all those what-are-your-favorite-book questions), and it continues to be a treasured classic on my shelf.

The story follows the journey of Milo, a boy bored of basically everything around him. One day he receives a mysterious package that turns out to be a tollbooth. For lack of anything better to do, he puts it together and begins to play, only to find himself driving in an entirely different world. There he meets all sort of curious creatures, from a giant watchdog (literally, a dog whose body is a watch) and a humbug the size of a person. Juster plays with words as if they were tangible objects to juggle, and continually surprises the reader by turning ordinary events into magical occurrences. This book very much exemplifies the quote (and I apologize for not naming the speaker, who slips my mind at this moment) "The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to get sharper."

Although Norton Juster's tale will probably never receive as much wild acclaim as the Harry Potter series, The Phantom Tollbooth nevertheless exhibits its own quiet charm. It is full of original characters and entertaining events, and I heartily recommend it for any child, or adult for that matter, who would like to be amused for a few hours on a rainy afternoon - especially if you think there's nothing to do! It is a wonderful book to read to a child, and the simple black and white drawings scattered throughout the text belie the vivid pictures that Juster paints with his words.

204 of 218 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars “WELCOME TO EXPECTATIONS”, April 22, 2006

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Phantom Tollbooth (Paperback)

Milo’s bored with everything

And couldn’t see the reason

For learning math or spelling bees

No matter what the season

At home one day he found a box

Not round, but not quite square

ONE GENU-INE TURNPIKE TOLLBOOTH

The label did declare

Intrigued, he jumped into his car

Although this was a toy

Through the tollbooth he then passed,

One jaded little boy

He found himself quite somewhere else

It happened very fast

“WELCOME TO EXPECTATIONS”

said a signpost that he passed

But in this land there was a feud

Between two stubborn brothers

One thought words were number one

While numbers were the other’s

Milo, Humbug, faithful Tock

Must help to set things straight

Get Rhyme and Reason to return

so the feuding will abate

The brilliance of this story lies

In the author’s verbal skill

The places and the characters

Provide a learning thrill

The characters are wonderful

The plotline never dull

You’ll read this story several times

Until your brain is full

So if you are a child at heart

From two to ninety two

I strongly recommend this one

To you, and you, and you

Amanda Richards, April 22, 2006