Norton Juster Visits Athena Program

Famous children’s author, Norton Juster, who wrote the children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth, joined the Athena Program to talk about writing children’s books and the importance of reading to your children.

The week-long Athena Program works with teen mothers from Holyoke, Massachusetts and takes place on the campus of Amherst College.

The program combines poetry, family literacy, and healthy eating and cooking.

In addition to speaking to the young women, Norton autographed copies of his charming book, The Hello Goodbye Window.

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program is part of Reader to Reader’s DiscoverBooks Program, which receives generous support from Mary Ann Cofrin and the AEC Trust, the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, and PeoplesBank.

Norton Juster Shares Art of Storytelling at Athena Program

Norton Juster, author of the children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth, shared the art of story writing with the teen mothers participating in Reader to Reader’s Athena Interactive Literacy program. He also spoke about the importance of reading to your children.

This year’s 6-day Athena workshop combines family literacy and songwriting, with an exploration of healthy eating and cooking. The mothers also receive a large number of books to share with their children.

Norton Juster was an immediate hit with the teen mothers, who loved his warm and folksy manner. One of the mothers said, “I wish he was my grandfather!” Each of the teen mothers received a copy of his children’s book The Hello Goodbye Window, which he signed for each of them. The young mother that had wished that he was her grandfather asked him to sign it “Grandpa Juster,” which he did.

Funding for the Athena Program comes in part from PeoplesBank.

Get an Autographed Copy of The Phantom Tollbooth!

Here is the perfect holiday gift for you or a friend! Author Norton Juster is signing copies of his children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth for anyone donating $200 or more to Reader to Reader.

“Reader to Reader is a great charity and I want to do all I can to help them,” says Juster. "I hope you will too."

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved children’s classic. The ingenious fantasy centers around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey. He meets such characters as the foolish, yet lovable Humbug, the Mathemagician, and the not-so-wicked "Which," Faintly Macabre, who gives Milo the "impossible" mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom.

"I read [The Phantom Tollbooth] first when I was 10. I still have the book report I wrote, which began 'This is the best book ever.'"
--Anna Quindlen, The New York Times

Reader to Reader is a nonprofit literacy organization that has donated over $40 million dollars worth of books and computers across the U.S. and in 14 countries.

To get your copy just donate $200 or more on Reader to Reader’s crowdrise page. Please mention “Tollbooth” on the memo line.

Author Norton Juster Joins Mentoring Program

Children reading The Phantom Tollbooth in the Doris Hiatt Mentoring Program got a special treat recently when author Norton Juster signed on to answer their questions.

Juster answered questions from a 5th grade girl about what was real and what was imaginary about the trip Milo takes in the book.

“It's sometimes hard to tell whether a trip is real or imaginary--Some of the best trips I've ever taken have been imaginary,” Juster explained. “The trip Milo goes on is about real things, real ideas and real thoughts, but it is imaginary since it is a story. Often times the best way to think about and understand real things is through stories--Milo is really traveling in his mind and in his imagination in this story. You can see how far you can go without ever leaving your room.”

We are so pleased to welcome Norton Juster as the first of our guest authors, He has been a long-time supporter of Reader To Reader. More guest authors will be participating in the coming months.

The Doris Hiatt Mentoring Program brings together children from low-income backgrounds and college student reading mentors to read books and discuss them online in a specially designed forum. The students not only receive positive feedback and academic support, but also much-needed role models.

Honoring Norton Juster

We are very pleased to honor distinguished author Norton Juster for his support of Reader To Reader and his lifetime devotion to literacy. Juster is the first recipient of the Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy. The award will be presented annually.

Juster received a plaque from Reader To Reader founder David Mazor at Sunday’s 19th Annual Children's Illustration Exhibition in Northampton, MA.

The author of the children’s classics The Phantom Toll Booth and The Dot and the Line, Juster was one of the first supporters of Reader To Reader during our earliest days. Over the years he has donated thousands of books from his personal collection and has been a vocal advocate of our cause.

“Reader To Reader is such a simple idea and such a farsighted one – provide books for students of all ages who don’t have them. I can’t think of a worthier endeavor or one that will have a more profound effect,” Juster notes.

And we can't think of a more worthy person to honor than Norton. Three cheers for Norton Juster!