Norton Juster (June 2, 1929 – March 8, 2021) was an American academic, architect, and writer. He was best known as an author of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, notably for ''

The Phantom Tollbooth ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, first published in 1961 in literature, 1961. The story follows a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly recei ...

'' (1961) and ''The Dot and the Line'' (1963).

Early life

Juster was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on June 2, 1929. Both his parents were Jewish and immigrated to the United States. His father, Samuel Juster, was born in Romania and became an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

through a correspondence course. His mother, Minnie Silberman, was of Polish Jewish descent. His brother, Howard, became an architect as well. Juster studied architecture at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, obtaining a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1952. He went on to study city planning at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

Career

Juster enlisted in the

Civil Engineer Corps The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsib ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1954, and rose to the rank of lieutenant junior grade. During one tour, to combat boredom, he began to write and illustrate a story for children, but the commanding officer later reprimanded him for it. Still, Juster also finished an unpublished satirical fairy tale called "The Passing of Irving". Later posted in the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

, again to combat boredom, he made up a non-existent military publication called the ''Naval News Service'' as a scheme to request interviews with attractive women. It worked so amazingly well that a neighbor asked to come along as his assistant. His next scheme was to make the "Garibaldi Society" (inspired by a statue in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

), whose ''

raison d'être is a French expression commonly used in English, meaning "reason for being" or "reason to be." ''Raison d'être'' may refer to: Music * Raison d'être (band), a Swedish dark-ambient-industrial-drone music project * Raison D'être (album), ''Rai ...

'' was to reject anyone who applied for membership, designing an impressive logo, application, and rejection letter. It was at this time he met

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer ( ; January 26, 1929 – January 17, 2025) was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Pulitzer Prize for Editori ...

while taking out the trash. Approximately six months after meeting Feiffer, Juster received his discharge from the Navy, and worked for a

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

architectural firm. He also did some part-time teaching and undertook other jobs. Juster, Feiffer, and another friend rented an apartment on State Street. Juster also resorted to pulling pranks occasionally on Feiffer. Juster's children's novel, ''

,'' was published in 1961, with Feiffer doing the drawings. This was followed by ''

The Dot and the Line ''The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics'' is a 1965 animated short film directed by Chuck Jones and co-directed by Maurice Noble, based on the 1963 book of the same name written and illustrated by Norton Juster, who also provid ...

'' (1963), which became a standard book in classrooms around the country. Juster went on to author ''Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys'' (1965), '' Stark Naked: A Paranomastic Odyssey'' (1969), ''Otter Nonsense'' (1982), and ''As Silly as Knees, as Busy as Bees'' (1998), among other works. He also published ''A Woman's Place: Yesterday's Women in Rural America'' in 1996 for an adult audience, based on his personal experience of residing on a farm in Massachusetts. Although Juster enjoyed writing, his architectural career remained his primary emphasis. He served as a professor of architecture and

environmental design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

from 1970 to 1992, when he retired. He also co-founded a small architectural firm, Juster Pope Associates, in

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts Shelburne Falls is an historic village in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The village is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 1,731 at the 2010 census. It is part of the S ...

, in 1970. The firm was renamed Juster Pope Frazier after Jack Frazier joined the firm in 1978.

Later life

Juster lived in Massachusetts during his later years. His wife, Jeanne, died in October 2018 after 54 years of marriage. Although he retired from architecture, he continued to write for many years. His book '' The Hello, Goodbye Window'', published May 15, 2005, won the

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for Chris Raschka's illustration in 2006. The sequel, ''Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie'', was published in 2008. Two years later, he teamed up again with Feiffer for ''The Odious Ogre''. Juster died on March 8, 2021, at his home in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

. He was 91, and suffered from complications of a stroke prior to his death.

Books

* ''

'' (1961; ), illustrated by

* '' The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics'' (1963; ) * ''Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys'' (1965; ) * '' Stark Naked: A Paranomastic Odyssey'' (1969; Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 71-85568), illus.

Arnold Roth Arnold Roth (born February 25, 1929) is an American cartoonist and illustrator for advertisements, album covers, books, magazines, and newspapers. Novelist John Updike wrote, "All cartoonists are geniuses, but Arnold Roth is especially so." Care ...

* ''So Sweet to Labor: Rural Women in America 1865–1895'' (

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

; 1979; )—non-fiction * ''Otter Nonsense'' (1982; ), illus.

Eric Carle Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 – May 23, 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sol ...

* ''As: A Surfeit of Similes'' (1989; ) * ''A Woman's Place: Yesterday's Women in Rural America'' (1996; )—non-fiction * '' The Hello, Goodbye Window'' (Michael Di Capua Books, 2005; ), illus.

Chris Raschka Chris Raschka is an American illustrator, writer, and violist. He contributed to children's literature as a children's illustrator. Early life and education Raschka was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Though he grew up in suburban Chicago, ...

* ''Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie'' (2008; ), illus. Chris Raschka * ''The Odious Ogre'' (2010; ), illus. Jules Feiffer * ''Neville'' (2011; ), illus. G. Brian Karas

Other media

Both ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' and ''The Dot and the Line'' were adapted into films by animator

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

. The latter film received the 1966

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

. ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' was also adapted into a musical by Norton Juster and

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) was an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as '' Fiorello!'', '' She Loves Me'', and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Ear ...

, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music composed by Arnold Black. There have been musical settings of "A Colorful Symphony" from ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' for narrator and orchestra and of ''The Dot and the Line'' for narrator and chamber ensemble by composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez.

References

External links

"Norton Juster: Phantom Toll Booth Designer"
– 2007 profile at

Central Rappahannock Regional Library Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) is a public library system that serves the city of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland counties in Virginia. The library system is within Region 5 of Virginia Library Associat ...

, Virginia
Biography
at MTIshows.com

at Powells.com (October 10, 2006)

at ''Salon'' (March 12, 2001)

by RoseEtta Stone (2001) at Underdown.org
"Fifty Years of ''The Phantom Tollboth''
by Adam Gopnik, ''The New Yorker'', October 17, 2011 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juster, Norton 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Architects from Massachusetts Architects from New York City Hampshire College faculty Jewish American novelists Military personnel from Massachusetts Military personnel from New York City Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from New York City People from Amherst, Massachusetts United States Navy officers Writers from Amherst, Massachusetts Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Northampton, Massachusetts