THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster

Hailed as “a classic. . . . humorous, full of warmth and real invention” (The New Yorker), this beloved story--first published more than fifty ago--introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond.

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. . . .

For those of us who grew up with battered and much-read copies of The Phantom Tollbooth, and who will never think the same way again about phrases like "jumping to conclusions," "half baked ideas," or "spelling bees," it's time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this delightful book. The unforgettable adventures of Milo as he travels to the Land Beyond (in a car that "goes without saying") are being re-released in a beautiful hardback edition. The wonderful pen and ink sketches of Jules Feiffer still dot the landscape of the book, and a new foreword by the author tells the story of how this book came to be.