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Norton Juster was an author and architect who wrote the children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth, featuring a protagonist with the same name as me.
Early Life
Norton Juster was born on June 2, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family. His father, Samuel, was an architect — a career Norton would also pursue. Growing up in a household filled with books, including The Wizard of Oz series and lively creative discussions, he developed a fascination for stories and wordplay from a young age. His love for humor, puns, and the absurdities of language was inspired by reading the comics in the newspaper with his father.
Norton studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and later completed his degree at the University of Liverpool. Following his studies, he served in the U.S. Navy during the 1950s, where he worked on planning and design projects. While stationed in Newfoundland, helping to build a Navy air station, he sketched castles and other fantastical environments to keep from going crazy. Though he initially treated his creative ambitions as secondary to his architectural career, they remained an important part of his life.
Career
After returning from his service in the Navy, Juster took a job at an architectural office, where he had the idea to write a…
