Childrens author Norton Juster was born in 1929.

Architect and author Norton Juster is best known for his classics The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics. Juster“;s The Phantom Tollbooth, which is full of clever word play, has been in print for over 40 years and is still a favorite with children. The Dot and the Line was made into an Academy Award-winning short animation in 1965. Until his retirement, Juster wrote in his spare time while running his own architectural firm and teaching at the college level. In an interview with Powells.com, Juster said writing The Phantom Tollbooth was “;like goofing off.“; He had received a grant to write a book for kids about urban aesthetics, but wrote The Phantom Tollbooth instead.

ReadWriteThink
In Finding Figurative Language in The Phantom Tollbooth (6–8), students study some of the literary devices Juster uses to help the reader visualize aspects of the story. Then, using this study as motivation, students search the Internet for the literal definitions of figurative language.

In Figurative Language Awards Ceremony (3–;5), students nominate their favorite examples of similes, metaphors and personification, vote on the best ones and then write an acceptance speech incorporating figurative language of their own.

The Phantom Tollbooth is one of several books recommended for use in the lessons Demonstrating Comprehension Through Journal Writing (3–;5), in which students respond to literature informally in their journals, and Literary Characters on Trial: Combining Persuasion and Literary Analysis (6–;8), in which students serve as prosecution, defense and jury for a mock trial of a literary character.

Illuminations
In Can It Be? (6–;8), students explore the concept of averages using The Phantom Tollbooth.