This belongs to Zoe.
My favorite children’s book–my favorite character, and quote. Super pleased.
“I’m Alec Bings; I see through things.”
– The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos
The original literary tattoo blog! Over 600 tattoos from books, poetry, music, and other sources.
This belongs to Sara.
This is my tattoo from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. It’s an original illustration from the book. The book has been a favorite of mine since childhood, and I knew that one day I would want to get a picture or text tattoo to represent it. I chose this particular drawing because it is my favorite part of the book. The main character, Milo, has just met Chroma, the conductor of the world’s colors. He is responsible for conducting an orchestra that produces daytime and nighttime, sunrises and sunsets, and is the reason for the passage of time. Milo’s responsibility is to wake Chroma up in time to conduct the sunrise, but instead he decides to attempt to conduct himself, and he accidentally conducts the orchestra through an entire week of time. The tattoo is of Milo sleeping on the conductor’s music. I love this part so much because it is whimsical and beautiful, and as the rest of the book, makes you look at the everyday in a new way. It keeps me appreciating what I have, and the kid inside of me will always love the story.
This is Katie’s tattoo:
This is inspired from one of my favorite children’s books by Norton Juster called The Dot and the Line. Not only do I absolutely adore this story of a line hopelessly in love with a dot, but it was also the first book I ever found and bought from the independent bookstore I have been working at for the past 5 years. Back before I actually got paid to be surrounded by books, I would go in The Book Tavern (Augusta, Ga) and pester the owner (and my neighbor). I spotted a first edition of this book and had no prior knowledge of it. I immediately fell in love with not just it’s story but it’s worn and tattered pages. I traded in most of my prized books to get it at a discount because I couldn’t afford it’s rare price tag.
Bonus: Watch the cartoon here.