Nothing
Format: Hardcover
ISBN13: 9780823454099
Hardcover|9780823454099
✨ Featured Offer
Brand New
$18.11
List Price: $18.99
🚚
See all 5 offers from $18.11 FREE standard delivery by: 29 Mar 2026
Overview
What does nothing sound like? An offbeat history of John Cage's 4'33", 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 Cage's 4'33", whose purpose is to amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That shocking first performance earned 4'33" 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 don't 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 Day's text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor, warm and refined; two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka's 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, Nothing is not to be missed.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
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 Cage's 4'33", whose purpose is to amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That shocking first performance earned 4'33" 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 don't 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 Day's text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor, warm and refined; two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka's 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, Nothing is not to be missed.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
| ISBN-13 | 9780823454099 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0823454096 |
| Weight | 2.31 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 10.40 x 0.38 x 9.32 In |
| List Price | $18.99 |
| Format | Hardcover |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Pages | 40 pages |
| Publisher | Neal Porter Books |
| Published On | 2024-04-02 |
View All Offers
Sort by:
Price
Condition
Seller
Seller Comments
Price
✨ Brand New
Seller details
Alibris
Sparks, NV, USA
Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 40 p. Contains: Illustrations. Intended for a juvenile audience.
Free delivery by: 29 Mar 2026
Brand New
Seller details
indoo.com
Avenel, NJ, USA
9780823454099.
Free delivery by: 29 Mar 2026
Brand New
Seller details
GreatBookPrices-
Columbia, MD, USA
100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition. We offer expedited shipping to all US locat...
Free delivery by: 29 Mar 2026
Used, Like New
Seller details
GreatBookPrices-
Columbia, MD, USA
100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition. We offer expedited shipping to all US locat...
Free delivery by: 29 Mar 2026
Used, Good
Seller details
Dream Books Co.
Denver, CO, USA
Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting...
Free delivery by: 29 Mar 2026