The Cranbury Public Library and Cranbury School invite all students and residents to come together to take part in our "One Book, One Cranbury" program. This year we will all be reading Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. Join us in the Gallery at the Public Library on Friday, December 20th at 4:30pm as we kick off the initiative with a read-out event!

We will be gathering at the Library for a read-out, where esteemed members from the School, Library, and community at large will be reading aloud passages from The Phantom Tollbooth. A representative from the Clock Winding Committee will also be highlighting the Town Hall clock in a connection to the watchdog, Tock, who adorns the cover of the book. Refreshments will be served and we'll be sharing additional information about the many exciting upcoming events we have planned for "One Book, One Cranbury". 

About "One Book, One Cranbury"

This is an expansion of a program that the Library and School partnered on last year where we encouraged students and patrons to read the same book, engage in dialogue and activity, and attend an author visit at the Library. We felt that last year was a great success for our first foray into an initiative of this kind, and this year we would like to expand our scope and invite the entire town to take part.

We have chosen The Phantom Tollbooth for several reasons. It is a book that takes delight in learning, in expanding one’s mind and being open to new possibilities; it encourages our imagination and does so through the whimsy of wordplay. 

We are inspired by Norton Juster’s passion for knowledge exploration, and the notion that learning is a world we enter, and it is worth traveling there as often as possible. Our goal is to bring our community closer by bridging the gap between generations. Our hope is that adults who have read the book will be able to welcome our younger residents into a new world of learning and get them excited about the boundless possibilities that exist when we engage our curiosity and keep an open mind. Now, more than ever, we all want to promote community, curiosity, and compassion among one another. We want to create reasons to bring people together and build connections where they may not have previously existed.