The Phantom Tollbooth
About this book
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.
Reader Profile
4.2/5 · 312947 readers · 255 pages · ≈ 4 h 43 m · Moderate
How long does it take to read The Phantom Tollbooth?
About ≈ 4 h 43 m — 255 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is The Phantom Tollbooth?
255 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is The Phantom Tollbooth?
It sits on the Classics, Science Fiction, Adventure shelves.
Has The Phantom Tollbooth been made into a movie or TV show?
Yes — screen adaptations include The Phantom Tollbooth (1971), The Phantom Tollbooth (1970).
Is The Phantom Tollbooth in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who are the main characters in The Phantom Tollbooth?
The main characters include Humbug, Milo, Tock, King Azaz the Unabridged.
Where does The Phantom Tollbooth take place?
It is set in Castle in the Air, Dictionopolis, Digitopolis.
Who wrote The Phantom Tollbooth?
Norton Juster.