Boredom put to a very good use.

Lets celebrate the 50^th anniversary of The Phantom Tollbooth by remembering how important boredom was to Milo. Different than most kids today, Milo had plenty of time on his hands. The Phantom Tollbooth tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon, which transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom.

This is one of those books that I dare anyone—adult or child— not to love. Read the book and become Milo’s companion for a trip the likes you have never experienced. Some of the folks you will meet are Tock, the watchdog, the Humbug, King Araz, the Mathemagician, Princesses Rhyme and Reason, the Terrible Trivium and the Senses Taker.

I loved how Norton Juster wrote his masterpiece while trying to avoid writing a book on cities for children that was both exhausting and dispiriting him and not something he wanted to do.   Read more about Norton Juster’s accidental masterpiece. http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141240217/my-accidental-masterpiece-the-phantom-tollbooth?sc=ipad&f=1008