{"product_id":"9780823454099","title":"Nothing","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne 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.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA rain patters.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA tree rustles.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn audience stirs. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNicholas 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, \u003ci\u003eNothing\u003c\/i\u003e is not to be missed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Massachusetts Book Award Honor Title\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the Massachusetts Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed to the Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Nicholas Day","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":45893446303956,"sku":"9780823454099","price":25.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/9208\/files\/BNCImageAPI_44d76341-56db-4323-b94c-b72e2d8f1a83.jpg?v=1714771836","url":"https:\/\/penguinshop.ca\/products\/9780823454099","provider":"Penguin Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}