As reported by Deadline, author Norton Juster – best known for writing iconic and beloved children’s books The Phantom Tollbooth and The point and the line-has passed away. Juster’s death was confirmed by his publisher, Penguin Random House, ed an NPR report says he died of complications related to a recent strokeHe was 91.
Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Juster followed in the footsteps of his father and brother (who were both architects) by studying urban planning and architecture in college. He joined the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps in the 1950s where he began writing and illustrating stories to pass the time. After leaving the military, Juster worked as an architect and was able to combine his two interests when he received a grant to write ‘a book about cities for children’ (as he puts it in this NPR pieceSadly, after Juster ended up “ up to his waist in piles of 3 by 5 note cards, exhausted and despondent, ” Juster realized he wasn’t want to write a children’s book about cities and decided to write something that would appeal to the kind of “quiet, introverted and moody” boy he had been.
From there, Juster began to write a book about a constantly bored and disinterested boy named Milo who returns home from school one day and finds a mysterious package containing a map of a place called “The Lands Beyond” and a small toll booth. From there, he embarks on a pun-filled adventure with a literal watchdog who is both extremely delightful and casually educational – not only in the sense that it teaches kids lots of exciting new words and ideas, but also leads them to learn about them. funThat book, The Phantom Tollbooth, is now considered an absolute classic in children’s literature, having sold millions of copies and been translated into several other languages. It was also adapted into an animated movie by Chuck Jones, although Juster wasn’t a fan of it himself (in 2011, he told The AV Club that Jones had treated the book “like the holy grail” and refused to change the text, even if it would have made for a better movie).
The Phantom Tollbooth was actually Jones’ second adaptation of a Juster book, The Other Being The Dot And The Line: A Romance In Lower MathematicsThe book, published in 1963, is about a straight line that falls in love with a dot, only to discover that the dot is in love with a twirl. Seeking to improve itself, the line learns how to bend and change its shape in new and complex ways. Ultimately, the line impresses the dot with its renewed appreciation for change, while the squiggle is permanently stuck like a jumble, leading to another excellent pun: “The vector belongs to the spoils.” Jones’ adaptation (although some say the short was actually directed by Maurice Noble, a longtime employee of Jones) ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and – as The Phantom Tollbooth– has become a staple of classrooms.
Juster’s other works include 2005’s The Hello, Goodbye window and its 2008 sequel, Sour Powder And Sweetie Pie, both of which (as he is in the same AV Club interview) were inspired by his granddaughter. Despite writing one of the most appreciated and generally loved children’s books of all time, Juster continued to work as an architect until his retirement.
G / O Media can receive a commission