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Norton Juster Trivia

Norton Juster Trivia Quizzes

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Norton Juster's most famous book, "The Phantom Tollbooth", tells the story of Milo, who uses one of said items to enter the Kingdom of Wisdom, where he is surrounded by all sorts of wordplay. The story is a treat for children and adults alike.
4 Norton Juster quizzes and 40 Norton Juster trivia questions.
1.
  Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz examines the modern children's classic "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster. You are encouraged to have read the book before you take the quiz.
Average, 10 Qns, bernie73, Aug 15 26
Average
bernie73 gold member
Aug 15 26
30 plays
2.
  "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"The Phantom Tollbooth" is an excellent book by Norton Juster. Enjoy the quiz!
Average, 10 Qns, craftycrofty25, Nov 22 08
Average
craftycrofty25
420 plays
3.
  "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"The Phantom Tollbooth" is a fantastic modern-day fairy tale written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. I hope you enjoy this quiz about the first half of the book.
Average, 10 Qns, Fungusfiend, Jul 04 12
Average
Fungusfiend
179 plays
4.
  The Phantom Tollbooth    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is on a great book, "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster!
Average, 10 Qns, adambrundell, Jun 07 20
Average
adambrundell
Jun 07 20
349 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Who is the grandfather of the awful DYNNE (Din)?

From Quiz "Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth""





Norton Juster Trivia Questions
1. What was Milo's main problem at the start of the book?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: He was bored with everything.

Milo thought learning was a waste of time and he couldn't see the point of any kind of knowledge.

2. What color is the Phantom Tollbooth that the main character, Milo, assembles in his bedroom?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: Purple

Milo comes home to discover the tollbooth in an extremely large package. A note is included, stating that "this package contains one (1) genuine turnpike tollbooth to be erected according to the directions", among other things. These included three precautionary signs saying "SLOW DOWN APPROACHING TOLLBOOTH", "PLEASE HAVE YOUR FARE READY", and "HAVE YOUR DESTINATION IN MIND", several coins to be used for paying tolls, and a map.

3. When Milo finds the tollbooth and goes through it, what destination does he have in mind? (He picked it off the map.)

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: Dictionopolis

On his way to Dictionopolis, Milo accidentaly goes into the Doldrums. There he meets Lethargarians, who do nothing all day long.

4. How do you get out of DOLDRUMS?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: by thinking

"At 8 o'clock we get up, and then we spend from 8 to 9 daydreaming. From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap. From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay. From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap. From 11:30 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch..." In the story, Milo (the main character) finds himself thinking as little as possible and ends up in a location based on not thinking at all. The doldrums are defined as a state of sluggish lack of thinking and inaction. It makes sense that thinking would get you out of the doldrums. "The Phantom Tollbooth" (1961) was written by Norton Juster (1929-2021) and is considered a modern classic of children's literature. In his long life, he was both an author and an architect.

5. What gift suddenly appeared in Milo's bedroom?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: pieces to assemble a tollbooth, signs, coins, a map, and a book of rules and regulations

He assembled the tollbooth from the kit and went to the Doldrums and Dictionopolis.

6. Milo passes through the tollbooth and finds himself where?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: Expectations

In Expectations, Milo meets the Whether Man, an odd little man who tends to repeat everything he says. Milo goes to Conclusions, The Mountains of Ignorance, and The Doldrums later in the book.

7. What is the name of the watchdog that Milo encounters in the doldrums?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: Tock

Tock goes tick-tick-tick and is named Tock. The illustrations in the book portray Tock as a large dog of indeterminate breed. His most distinctive feature is a large watch or clock face on his side - he is a watchdog. He is able to use human language and in many ways is smarter than Milo, or at least more knowledgeable. In some ways, though, he is rather doglike, like when he asks if he can ride in Milo's car and announces that he likes car rides. Although he is not encountered in the story, Tock's brother is his opposite. His name is Tick, but he goes tock-tock-tock.

8. How did Milo get stuck in the Doldrums?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: He wasn't thinking.

He chose the wrong road and ended up in the Doldrums.

9. Milo, not thinking, ends up in The Doldrums, where he encounters the party of Lethargarians. They tell him that he is breaking Local Ordinance 175389-J. What is Local Ordinance 175389-J?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: It shall be unlawful, illegal, and unethical to think

Although laughing is illegal, it is not Local Ordinance 175389-J. The other two choices I just made up.

10. How many people does King Azaz have for his cabinet?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: 5

The five people in King Azaz's cabinet are: The Duke of Definition, The Earl of Essence, The Minister of Meaning, The Count of Connotation, and The Undersecretary of Understanding. Each says a different word that means the same thing.

11. What are the names of the princesses?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: Rhyme and Reason

Rhyme and Reason are the younger adopted sisters of King Azaz and the Mathemagician. They sort of serve as the "Maguffin" of the book. The quest to rescue them from the Castle in the Air drives the plot of the story. Apart from that, the Princesses do not have any significance to the story, though they are generally more pleasant than their brothers in the few scenes where they appear.

12. After Officer Shrift sentences Milo to six million years in prison; who did Milo meet there?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: The Which

The Which turned out to be the King's great aunt whose job it was to pick which words to use.

13. Milo finds Tock while in the Doldrums, a watchdog that makes what sound?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: Tick-tick-tick-tick

Tock is the youngest watchdog in his family. His body is a massive watch, with the limbs, tail, and head of a dog. His parents named his brother Tick, anticipating that that was the sound he would make, but instead he went tock-tock-tock. Determined not to make the mistake again, they named their next offspring Tock, assuming that he would make the same sound as his brother. Of course, that didn't work out so well.

14. What word does Milo get from the Soundkeeper's fortress? (In the Silent Valley.)

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: but

Once Milo puts the word "but" in the cannon, it explodes the Soundkeeper's fortress, releasing all of the sounds!

15. What was Milo's excuse for getting into Dictionopolis?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: Why Not

The city of Dictionopolis is under the rule of King Azaz. Milo's "Why Not" summarizes his character at the beginning of the story with its connotation of indifference. The illustrations for "The Phantom Tollbooth" were drawn by Jules Pfeiffer (1929-2025), who was also the housemate of Norman Juster. In addition to being an illustrator and an author, he was also a cartoonist.

16. What was unusual about Alec Bings?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: He started at the height he is going to be when he is an adult and grows down to the ground instead of up.

Alec floated around above Milo and his friends.

17. On the Island of Conclusions, Milo, Tock, and the Humbug meet a man. What do they name him?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: Canby

Canby describes himself as smart, stupid, strong, weak, tall, short, generous, selfish, fast, slow, graceful, and clumsy as can be.

18. Who is the grandfather of the awful DYNNE (Din)?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: The Dreadful Rauw

He perished in the great silence epidemic of 1712. The DYNNE is a genie who collects noises for Dr. Discord. Dr. Discord is a scientist who collects unpleasant sounds. Though he collects unpleasant sounds, he's not particularly unpleasant himself.

19. Chroma the Great asked Milo to wake him up at exactly 5:23 a.m to conduct the sunrise, but what did Milo do a minute before?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: He conducted the sunrise himself and all the colors got mixed up.

In just that few minutes a week went by thanks to the rapid sunrises and sunsets but no one noticed.

20. Milo, the Humbug, and the Spelling Bee cause some trouble in the marketplace, and Milo is blamed for it. Officer Shrift, the Chief of Police, Judge, and Jailer of Dictionopolis, places Milo under arrest for how many million years?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: six

Milo is placed in a cell with Faintly Macabre, the not-so-wicked Which, a kindly old lady who is King Azaz's great aunt. Milo "escapes", if you can call pressing a button and walking out of the prison escaping, and is invited to a banquet with the king.

21. What does the Mathemagician give Milo to help him on his quest to find Rhyme and Reason?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: a magic staff

Milo uses the pencil to find out how long it will take to fufill the tasks that the Terrible Trivium has given him, Tock, and the Humbug.

22. How do you get to the island of Conclusions?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: By Jumping

The answer repeats the common phrase "jumping to conclusions". This refers to the practice about quickly making decisions based on faulty assumptions. Juster's book includes a number of literal description of common phrases.

23. Milo, Tock, and the Humbug embark on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. but to do so, they need the Mathemagician's permission. On the way to his kingdom of Digitopolis, they meet Alec Bings. What is unusual about his family?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: They are born suspended in the air, and their feet grow downward

Another thing about the family is that they all 'see' something different: Alec sees through things, his dad sees to things, his mother looks after things, his brother sees beyond things, his uncle sees the other side of every question, and his little sister Alice sees under things.

24. Which shape does Milo encounter near Digitopolous?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: Dodecahedron

Milo and the others meet a Dodecahedron (a twelve-sided shape) to assist them in finding the way. The dodecahedron is surprised that the others aren't named after the shape they are. Interestingly, I had assumed a dodecahedron was basically shaped like a soccer ball (football). To my surprise, I found that that shape is called a truncated icosahedron.

25. What was the name of the castle where Rhyme and Reason were kept?

From Quiz The Phantom Tollbooth

Answer: The Castle in the Air

There was only a very thin ladder leading to the Castle in the Air!

26. What does the giant find hard to digest?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth", a trip into fantasy!

Answer: ideas

Since Milo tried to feed the giant his box full of ideas, the giant runs away and does not end up eating Milo, Tock, or the Humbug.

27. What did they use to beat the Terrible Trivium?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: Magic staff

Milo had to transport grain over with tweezers. Tock had to move water from a bucket to a well with an eye dropper. Finally the humbug had to dig a hole with a needle. Milo is able to use the magic staff (essentially a writing implement) to calculate how long these jobs will take and finds they will take a very long time. These impossible tasks illustrate an important point: you should work hard, but towards a meaningful goal. Rescuing the princesses is a meaningful goal and the Terrible Trivium's tasks are not.

28. Milo and his companions eventually arrive at the twin cities of Reality and Illusions. What is odd about Reality?

From Quiz "The Phantom Tollbooth" Part One

Answer: It's completely invisible

Because nobody cared about the city, it has started to fade away, and everyone is too busy to notice it. Everyone has just been too busy to notice the city disappearing.

29. What was the thing that AZAZ and the Mathematician wanted to say to Milo that had to wait until he finished his Quest?

From Quiz Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth"

Answer: That it was impossible

"...but if we've told you then, you might not have gone and as you've discovered, so many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible." This phrase occurs at the end of the story after Rhyme and Reason have been reunited with their older brothers. This would seem to be one of the themes of the story.

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Last Updated Sep 19 2026 5:56 AM
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