Delightful fantasy "origin story" of the alphabet in a world with nothing but numbers. Hurray for the creation of letters, and the resulting arrival of... Jellybeans! Colors! And pizza! -- Part of this book's appeal is the novelty of the page orientation, as you must turn it 90 degrees and flip pages upward to read it. The text is short enough to be an excellent read-aloud with groups of children.

Numbers equal order, but don't allow room for originality. In the Numberly's world, everything is perfectly timed, symmetrical, and identified by a number. Dissatisfied with their grey surroundings and dull life, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 decide to think outside the box. Inspiration strikes! From numbers, comes letters. For the most part, pages have a vertical orientation, except in the few instances where the Numbers 1 through 5 get a close-up. Every Numberly looks exactly the same, however these forward thinking dissidents get their own unique looks. The design alone sets them up as "right" for the job, but also serves the practical purpose of making them recognizable to children. Every design choice reminds us of the dominance of numbers. All the Numberly's are created through digital means, giving them uniformity. While buildings have precise shapes, with numbers present in various places. Varying degrees of the brown and grey shades, along with a pointillism effect, produces depth. With their task complete, emotional colour introduces itself into the scheme, celebrating all the variety of the alphabet. Although this tale on the alphabet's birth is purely fictional, it does bare a smidgeon of truth; letters did morph out of other forms. This backdrop creates a fascinating forum for children to learn their ABC's through. Like Joyce's Mr. Morris..., the Numberly's is a transmedia title. The companion book, an animated short, and an interactive app will engage children, while encouraging the central message...creativity creates wondrous things.