The Phantom and the Caterpillar

Milo and Tock from Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth

One of the reasons I love to run long distances is that it gives me more time to listen to NPR podcasts.  When else is there the time to listen to Neil Conan explain science, Tom Ashbrook debate about current events or Bob Edwards interview Norton Juster?
Norton Juster is a celebrity in my house.  His book, The Phantom Tollbooth is one of the cherished, not to be donated, paperbacks that we actually reread - it ranks in the book stratosphere with Harry Potter and To Kill A Mockingbird.  The book is a wonderful adventure story locked in a tangle of clever puns and riddles that make the reading fun on several levels.  Milo and his alarm clock dog, Tock, embark on a quest to rescue the princesses, Rhyme and Reason,  who are imprisoned in Digitopolis.  They don’t have to traverse the slough of despond but they do meet an endless cast of curious and challenging characters on their journey. As a teacher I found I could especially identify with their trek into the Mountains of Ignorance where they meet the Terrible Trivium who stalls them with busywork. :)
My running revelation during Bob Edward’s interview was that Norton Juster was never a full time author - he has only recently retired from his full time job as an architect.  Juster was a professor of design at Hampshire College for 22 years and founded a small architectural firm in Shelburne Falls, MA, Juster Pope Frazier Associates. His writing hobby resulted in ten published and includes the Hello, Goodbye Window with Chris Raschka that won a Caldecott Medal in 2006.  
If you are a children’s book junkie, like me, you may have perked up your ears when I mentioned Western Massachusetts because it is the home of the Eric Carle Picture Book Museum (and library).  The museum was founded by Eric Carle in 2002 and is peacefully planted in an apple orchard next to Hampshire College, near Holyoke, MA.  The mission of the museum is to foster an appreciation of  picture book art and it offers several galleries of rotating exhibits featuring the magical artwork of illustrators from beloved children’s books.   The museum library is an oasis of imagination - filled with 3,000 books, artwork, comfy seats and stuffed animals, Hannah and I promptly planted ourselves and started pulling old favorites off the shelves.  I think we spent more time reading books in the library and gift shop then we did in the gallery!
If you haven’t yet jumped to the Island of Conclusions (like Milo and Tock), then I’ll make the leap for you.  In 2002 Juster Pope Frazier Associates was hired to design and build Eric Carle’s Museum.  What perfect synergy!  The beautiful space is bright, open and airy and not a bit condescending.  Carle worked closely with the architects to create a blank slate space that could be filled with the color and vibrancy of the work within it.
One last connection...Jules Feiffer was the illustrator of Tollbooth back in 1961 and went on to have a successful career as an author and illustrator (Feiffer and Juster have actually recently collaborated again on a new book called the Odious Ogre).  This October Feiffer will be honored with his own exhibit at the museum and I imagine that Norton Juster will have a truly satisfying afternoon wandering through the galleries admiring the art and the architecture.  I can’t wait to go back myself.