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'Tollbooth' Author Norton Juster Plays Not My Job

We invite Norton Juster, the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, to answer three questions about The Phantom Menace.

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NPR's Backseat Book Club

Kids' Book Club Takes 'Tollbooth' To Lands Beyond

The pun-filled Phantom Tollbooth turns 50 this year. Author Norton Juster takes questions from young readers about the story of Milo, a bored little boy who finds adventure in a very strange land full of riddles and wordplay.

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NPR's Backseat Book Club

Nov. Kids' Book Club Pick: 'The Phantom Tollbooth'

Even after 50 years, the story of a bored little boy who travels to the Lands Beyond still feels fresh. We know you will love Milo's story — and we invite you to send in your questions for author Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer.

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Opinion

My Accidental Masterpiece: The Phantom Tollbooth

Fifty years ago Norton Juster sat down and tried to remember the confusion and dislocation of childhood. His memories became a book, and The Phantom Tollbooth was born. In this essay, Juster looks back at his beloved novel, and the bored, disconnected child who grew up to write it.

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Books

'Phantom Tollbooth' Creators Reunited By An 'Ogre'

In the early 1960s, writer Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer created The Phantom Tollbooth, which quickly became a kid-lit classic. Now, 50 years later, the two have finally collaborated once more — this time, on a picture book called The Odious Ogre. They speak to NPR's Liane Hansen about their partnership and their new project.

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Excerpt: 'The Phantom Tollbooth'

There was once a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself — not just sometimes, but always ...

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Critics' Lists: Summer '09

A Classic List Of Must-Read Children's Books

As summer vacations draw to a close and school-age children begin the mad scramble to fulfill their summer reading obligations, author Lesley M. M. Blume recommends a few timeless books that may not be on the required book lists.

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Adventures to Read All Through the Summer

Little fingers get the chance to turn the pages of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But librarian Nancy Pearl has options not-so-Harry for parents, kids, and fans of the series.

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Summer Reading: Kids

Excerpt: 'The Phantom Tollbooth'

A very bored child named Milo receives a mysterious gift in this title recommended by librarian Nancy Pearl: a tollbooth. Next thing Milo knows, he's left his bedroom and is driving through new territory, not quite so bored anymore.

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