City By Numbers

Book Title: City By Numbers

Author(s): Stephen T. Johnson

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Stephen T. Johnson

Publisher: Viking

Copyright Date: 1998

Genre: Counting picturebook; wordless picturebook

Brief Annotation: In his beautifully painted book, illustrator Stephen T. Johnson captures the numbers 1 through 21 as they appear in a “natural position, out-of-doors or in a public space, readily accessible to anyone who looks carefully at our urban world at various times of day and during the cycle of the seasons.” All of the numbers were seen in New York City, and while some are easily spotted immediately, others are much more obscure and covert. His style in City By Numbers is “representational,” a term from our textbook used to describe art which “consists of literal, realistic depictions of characters, objects, and events” (Galda, p. 82).

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4—This is an interesting look at numbers as they appear in an urban landscape. It is neat to study the pictures to find the numbers in each painting; some definitely take more time to locate than others. I am curious to read Johnson’s Caldecott Honor book, Alphabet City, a text that followed the same format but with letters. I also liked that Johnson included numbers up until “21,” which he found to be “a particularly significant number as we enter the new millennium and the twenty-first century.”

Readers who will like this book: I believe readers of all ages will like this book. Although it could be used to teach younger children their numbers (in more of a “Where’s Waldo” format), I think many people can appreciate City By Numbers and the fact that, if you look hard enough, you can find a symbol, letter, or number, just about anywhere.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you ever looked around at your environment and found scenes or objects that look like something else? Why do you think the illustrator chose this method to depict numbers?

Optional, but noted as extra effort:

1. Interest Level (age): All ages

2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): N/A

3. List awards: Parenting Reading Magic Award, Parents Best Books of the Year

4. Book trailer: None