ByNicholas Day
Illustrated byChris Raschka

ABOUTNOTHING

What does nothing sound like? An offbeat history of John Cages 433, a musical composition of blank bars, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.

One night in 1952, master pianist David Tudor took the stage in a barnlike concert hall called the Maverick. A packed audience waited with bated breath for him to start playing. Little did they know that the performance had already begun.

A rain patters.
A tree rustles.
An audience stirs.

David was performing John Cages 433, whose purpose is to amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That shocking first performance earned 433 plenty of haters; and yet the piece endures, performed by the smallest garage bands and the grandest symphonies alike, year after year. Its fans hear what John Cage hoped we would hear: Nothing is never silent, and you dont need a creative genius, a concert hall, or even a piano to hear something worthwhile. All you have to do is stop and listen.

Nicholas Days text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor, warm and refined; two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschkas childlike pencil-on-watercolor artwork is uninhibited and electrifying, with all the visionary spirit of the work it chronicles. Guaranteed to spark generative thought and lively debate among readers of all ages,Nothingis not to be missed.