The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and The Line Author Norton Juster Dies at 91

Norton Juster, an iconic children’s author known for his work on The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line, has passed away at the age of 91. News of Jester’s death was confirmed by Penguin Random House on Tuesday, with the publisher confirming that he died on Monday evening in his home in Northampton, Massachusetts. According to a subsequent statement from his daughter, Emily Juster, which was published in The New York Times, the death was caused by complications from a recent stroke.

Born on June 2, 1929 in New York City, Juster first got into the world of writing while on tour with the United States Navy when, to combat boredom, he began to write and illustrate children’s stories. After being discharged from the Navy and getting a job at an architecture firm, Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth was published in 1961. He went on to publish or edit twelve books in his career, which ranged from children’s fiction to nonfiction. All the while, Juster remained in the architecture world, even teaching architecture and environmental design at Hampshire College from 1970 until his retirement in 1992. His most recent book, Neville, was published in 2011.

Both The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line have lived on in other mediums since their initial publication, including in short films from animator Chuck Jones. The adaptation of The Dot and the line went on to win an Oscar in 1965 for Best Animated Short Film. The Phantom Tollbooth was also adapted into a musical by Juster and Sheldon Harnick, and there had been plans for a modern-day film adaptation of the project. WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman was initially tied to the project, before being replaced by Ice Age‘s Carlos Saldanha in 2018.

In a 2011 interview with NPR’s All Things Considered, Juster argued that The Phantom Tollbooth still holds relevance to kids in the present-day, despite nearly half a century having passed since its initial publication.

“When I grew up I still felt like that puzzled kid—disconnected, disinterested and confused,” Juster explained at the time. “There was no rhyme or reason in his life. My thoughts focused on him, and I began writing about his childhood, which was really mine … Today’s world of texting and tweeting is quite a different place, but children are still the same as they’ve always been. They still get bored and confused, and still struggle to figure out the important questions of life. Well, one thing has changed: As many states eliminate tolls on highways, some children may never encounter a real tollbooth. Luckily there are other routes to the Lands Beyond. And it is possible to seek them, and fun to try.”

Our thoughts are with Juster’s family, friends, and fans at this time.