Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam have discovered numbers in many different forms all over the city. They are on houses and apartment buildings, on store windows and doors, on trucks and garbage bins, on sidewalks and parking spots. They are printed, spray-painted, molded in plastic, chiseled in stone, even torched into metal.

We see these numbers, often unconsciously, every day, but the wonderful photographs in this book prompt us to look at them more closely, becoming aware and alive to the art, serendipity and variety that surround us. This is a beautifully conceived book for anyone who enjoys engaging visually with the city.

Joanne Schwartz was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Her first picture book, Our Corner Grocery Store, illustrated by Laura Beingessner, was nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Her other books include City Alphabet and City Numbers, with photos by Matt Beam, and two Inuit folktales with Cape Dorset elder Qaunaq Mikkigak — The Legend of the Fog, illustrated by Danny Christopher, and Grandmother Ptarmigan, illustrated by Qin Leng. Joanne has been a children’s librarian for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Toronto.

Joanne Schwartz's profile page

Matt Beam is a writer, photographer and teacher. His young adult novels, published in Canada and the U.S., include Can You Spell Revolution?, Earth To Nathan Blue and Last December. City Alphabet, with words by Joanne Schwartz, was his first photographic picture book. He lives in downtown Toronto.

Matt Beam's profile page

"Highly recommended."

CM Magazine

...intriguing...

Globe and Mail

for young readers who can appreciate the pleasure of seeing an old city with new eyes

Booklist

...an impeccably designed yet playful twist on the traditional counting book...

Publishers Weekly

This is a sophisticated book...

Quill & Quire