The Phantom Tollbooth ~ Paperback ~ Norton Juster

"It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time," Milo remarks glumly. But his glumness soon turns to surprise when he finds in his bedroom and enormous package marked: "One Genuine Turnpike Tollbooth". Having nothing better to do, Milo points his little car towards the strange land that lies beyond the Phantom Tollbooth--the Kingdom of Wisdom. And before he knows what he's doing, he volunteers to rescue the banished princesses, Rhyme and Reason, from their Castle in the Air. But the stairway to the Castle is guarded by fierce demons, and the road leading to it is full of extraordinary and unexpected hazards. Is Milo quick enough to leave the Demons of Ignorance behind, and cunning enough to outwit--among others--the Terrible Trivium? This new edition of Norton Juster's classic story includes a special "Why You'll Love This Book" introduction by award-winning author, Diana Wynne Jones. Reviews "The most unpredictable, the most stimulating children's book I have read for a very long time." --Sunday Times " I read [The Phantom Tollbooth] first when I was 10. I still have the book report I wrote, which began 'This is the best book ever.'"--Anna Quindlen, The New York Times "A classic... Humorous, full of warmth and real invention."--The New Yorker "Hero Milo "didn't know what to do with himself-not just sometimes, but always." One day he returns from school to find an easy to assemble tollbooth and when he drives through it, Milo finds wild adventures in Dictionopolis, the land of words; Digitopolis, the world of numbers, and many locations in between. He is on a quest in this nonsensical land to bring back the Princess of Sweet Rhyme and Pure Reason. The book is filled with wild characters like the Spelling Bee who spells more than he speaks. There are silly word plays like the time Milo makes a speech at dinner and is surprised to find out how he has to eat his words. Life philosophy is mixed with tons of punny, funny humor. He is so changed by his travels that when he returns home he is only momentarily disappointed when the tollbooth disappears. As Milo says, "there's just so much to do right here." A children's classic for parent and child to enjoy together." Children's Literature Author Biography Norton Juster was born in New York State in 1929, just prior to the Great Depression of 1929. There are still a number of people who attribute that catastrophic event directly to his birth. He grew up (carefully) in Brooklyn, studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent a year in Liverpool on a Fulbright Scholarship, doing graduate work in urban planning and learning to ride a motorcycle. After spending three years in the US Navy, he practised architecture in New York and Massachusetts before teaching architecture and planning. He began writing seriously while in the Navy. His work includes The Dot and the Line, which was made into an animated film, and a musical adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth. Between the teaching, architecture and writing his life can sometimes get quite hectic. of the three things he does, Mr Juster enjoys most the two he is not doing at any given time. He is married and lives in Massachusetts. He has one daughter and one granddaughter. The Phantom Tollbooth, his most famous book, won the George C. Stone Center for Children's Books Award.