Quotes from bookThe Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, published in 1961 by Random House . 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 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.
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“The only thing you can do easily is be wrong, and that's hardly worth the effort.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Variant: What you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“You can't improve sound by having only silence. The problem is to use each at the proper time.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“But just because you can never reach it, doesn’t mean that it’s not worth looking for.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Variant: Just because you have a choice, it doesn't mean that any of them 'has' to be right.
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“If you want sense, you'll have to make it yourself.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
“Have you ever heard a blindfolded octopus unwrap a cellophane-covered bathtub?”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
