The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster with illustrations by Jules Feiffer. It was published in 1961 by Random House (USA). It tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do, drives through it in his toy car, transporting him to the Kingdom of Wisdom, once prosperous but now troubled. There, he acquires two faithful companions, a dog named Tock and the Humbug, and goes on a quest to restore to the kingdom its exiled princesses—named Rhyme and Reason—from the Castle in the Air. In the process, he learns valuable lessons, finding a love of learning. The text is full of puns and wordplay, such as when Milo unintentionally jumps to Conclusions, an island in Wisdom, thus exploring the literal meanings of idioms.
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What you might want to know about The Phantom Tollbooth
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Milo is a ten-year-old who finds nothing worth doing until a small purple tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Driving through it in his toy car, he lands in the Lands Beyond, picks up Tock the watchdog, and sets out to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Mountains of Ignorance.
The Phantom Tollbooth is middle grade, recommended for readers 8 to 12. The wordplay and abstract concepts make it especially popular with kids who enjoy puns and puzzles. It has been continuously in print since 1961.
Yes. Chuck Jones directed a 1970 animated film adaptation. The film follows the novel's premise but takes some liberties with the wordplay.
The Phantom Tollbooth was written by Norton Juster, published in 1961 by Anaya.
The Phantom Tollbooth is 255 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Phantom Tollbooth takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
The Phantom Tollbooth is a standalone novel by Norton Juster, not part of a series.
The Phantom Tollbooth is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.