--- description: Find out why The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is on TIME's list of the best fantasy books of all time title: 'The Phantom Tollbooth' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c3b831868ac8b74/698a1328b3fce309090c7416/The-Phantom-Tollbooth-Norton-Juster-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 14, 2020 # The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  After a perpetually bored young boy named Milo drives his toy car through the tollbooth that’s mysteriously appeared in his bedroom, he’s transported to the Kingdom of Wisdom, a magical land divided by a feud over whether letters or numbers are more important. Aided by his newfound companions, Tock the watchdog (a trusty pup with the body of an alarm clock) and the braggadocious Humbug, Milo must journey to the Castle in the Air to rescue the realm’s exiled princesses, Rhyme and Reason, on a quest that teaches him the true joy of learning. Norton Juster has described his debut novel as an [“accidental masterpiece”](https://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/141240217/my-accidental-masterpiece-the-phantom-tollbooth "undefined") that was inspired by his own childhood ennui. Accidental or not, the book (and 1970 animated film adaptation) have helped generations of children keep the doldrums at bay. —_Megan McCluskey_ **Buy Now:** _The Phantom Tollbooth_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780394820378 "undefined") |[ Amazon](https://amzn.to/2SJzi0i "undefined") The Phantom Tollbooth: 100 Best Fantasy Books ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898443/the-phantom-tollbooth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898443/the-phantom-tollbooth/"},"headline":"'The Phantom Tollbooth' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books","datePublished":"2020-10-14T21:13:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:43:26.677Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898443/the-phantom-tollbooth/","keywords":["Books","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c3b831868ac8b74/698a1328b3fce309090c7416/The-Phantom-Tollbooth-Norton-Juster-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c3b831868ac8b74/698a1328b3fce309090c7416/The-Phantom-Tollbooth-Norton-Juster-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898443/the-phantom-tollbooth/","name":"'The Phantom Tollbooth' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books"}}]}] ```