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''The Phantom Tollbooth'' is a children's adventure novel and modern fairy tale by Norton Juster. It was published in 1961 with illustrations by Jules Feiffer. 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, decides to drive through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom. There he acquires two faithful companions, has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the princesses of the kingdom—Princess Rhyme and Princess Reason—from the castle in the air. The text is full of puns, and many events, such as Milo's jump to the Island of Conclusions, exemplify literal meanings of English language idioms. Juster claims his father's fondness for puns and The Marx Brothers' movies were a major influence.〔(Dobbs Ferry Middle School Production of The Phantom Tollbooth press release ) from Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District website〕 Critics have compared its appeal to that of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The book has been translated into several languages.〔(An Interview with Norton Juster, Author of ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' ) by Rosetta Stone from The Purple Crayon〕 == History == In June 1960 Juster was given a $5,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to write a children's book about cities.〔 In his proposal, he said he wanted "to stimulate and heighten perception — to help children notice and appreciate the visual world around them — to help excite them and shape their interest in an environment they will eventually reshape."〔Annotated Phantom Tollbooth p. ix〕 Juster quit his job so that he could work on the book. As part of it, he also took notes from an incident that had happened in Brooklyn a few days earlier, wanting to turn it into a short story.〔Annotated Phantom Tollbooth p. x〕 A boy about 10 years old asked "What is the biggest number there is?" Juster stated that "when a kid asks you a question, you answer with another question, so I said, 'Tell me what you think the biggest number there is,'" and Juster repeatedly asked him to add one to the number the boy came up with, leading them to talk about infinity.〔Marcus, Leonard S., ''Funny Business'', Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, 2009, pp. 129–130〕 Juster, back in Brooklyn, wanted to finish the story about "a boy who asked too many questions" before returning to the book on cities.〔 Around the time he met Feiffer (see below), he also met Judy Sheftel, a young editor whom he would marry in 1961.〔Annotated Phantom Tollbooth p. xxiv〕 She suggested that to pull the pieces together, that he write a two page synopsis. She later took the book to the editor Justin Epstein.〔 Epstein later wanted the whole section on Chroma and his orchestra removed,〔Annotated Phantom Tollbooth p. xxxiii〕 but Juster insisted that it be kept. The book was published in 1961. Juster says the book was rescued from the remainders table when Emily Maxwell wrote a rhapsodic review of it in ''The New Yorker'' magazine.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Phantom Tollbooth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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