The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's adventure novel and modern fairy tale (or contemporary fantasy) published in 1961, written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. 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, decides to drive through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom. There he acquires two faithful companions, has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the princesses of the kingdom--Princess Rhyme and Princess Reason--from the castle of air. The text is full of puns, and many events, such as Milo's jump to the Island of Conclusions, exemplify literal meanings of English language idioms.
Juster claims his father's fondness for puns and The Marx Brothers' movies were a major influence. Critics have compared its appeal to that of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The book has been translated into several languages.
Read more about The Phantom Tollbooth: Plot, Critical Reaction, Adaptations, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the word phantom:
“It was a favor for which to be forever silent to be shown this vision. The earth beneath had become such a flitting thing of lights and shadows as the clouds had been before. It was not merely veiled to me, but it had passed away like the phantom of a shadow, skias onar, and this new platform was gained. As I had climbed above storm and cloud, so by successive days’ journeys I might reach the region of eternal day, beyond the tapering shadow of the earth.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)