Review of Nothing

John Cage and 4'33"

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Neal Porter Books

(pub. 4.2.2024)

40 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: Nicholas Day

and illustrator: Chris Raschka

Character: John Cage

Overview:

" 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.

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.

Tantalizing taste:

"John Cage wanted to write a piece in which people would hear how much something there was in nothing.

He wanted people to hear how much sound there is in silence.

There is always a whole world out there to hear.

There is always something to hear inside the silence.

That was what David Tudor was doing at the Maverick: he was letting the audience hear what was inside the silence."

And something more: The About John Cage section explains: "John Cage ranks among the most important American composers of the last century, but he is famous for his ideas as his music. He is famous for the questions his music asked... For Cage, the questions were always the important part, because the questions were more interesting than the answers. The questions often led to more questions, instead of answers."

A Rose Named Peace

How Francis Meilland Created a Flower of Hope for a World at War

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Candlewick Press

(pub. 5.172024)

48 pages

Ages 6 - 9

Author: Barbara Carroll Roberts

   Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline

Character: Francis Meilland

Overview:

" Francis Meilland was passionate about roses. He loved their rich perfume, their buds unfurling in the summer sun, and their petals, soft as lambs’ ears. Like his father and grandfather before him, Francis cultivated flowers on the family farm in France. In his teens, he set about grafting and experimenting, determined to create a rose no one had seen before, and as the world braced for World War II, he rushed cuttings to rose-growing friends around the globe.

Six patient years later, word reached him: his rose had not only flourished; people were calling it the Peace Rose. An ideal gift for science and history buffs and for gardeners of all ages, this life story of a special flower is also a love song to living a dream from beginning to end, through sun and through storm."

Tantalizing taste:

"Now French soldiers needed food, and because they could not eat roses, Frances and his father dug up almost all of their roses - twenty thousand rosebushes on acres and acres of land.

And burned them.

Except for one tiny patch of ground where Francis kept a few rosebushes, the Meillands would grow only vegetables on their farm."

And something more: "Today, rose experts estimate that there are more than one hundred million Peace rosebushes blooming all around the world...

Francis Meilland followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers, growing roses on their farm in southern France. Francis's children continued the family rose business. Today, Meilland roses are still grown - and shipped all over the world - by Francis's grandchildren."

Words & Water

The Story of Wilma Dykeman

Writer, Historian, Environmentali

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Reycraft Books

(pub. 4.16.2024)

32 pages

Ages 7 -12

Author: Shannon Hitchcock

   Illustrator: Sophie Page

Character: Wilma Dykeman

Overview:

" Wilma Dykeman dedicated her life to imparting the invaluable lesson that water is the irreplaceable gift of life. Uncover the environmental insights she shared, leaving a lasting impact on generations to come. Follow Wilma's transformative relationship with a local river, where her deep love for the water sparks a mission to safeguard its vitality. Discover how her advocacy became a beacon of hope for both the river and the livelihoods that depended on its flowing currents."

Tantalizing taste:

"A New York publisher agreed to buy the book, but only if Wilma ignored the poison being dumped in the river. The girl who had splashed in the pond, waded in the creek, and who cherished the river refused to back down.

Wilma wanted to shine a bright light on water pollution.

She hoped to inspire: people, towns, businesses, everyone to help clean up the river."

And something more: The author, Shannon Hitchcock, shared in the Author's Note: "Wilma grew up as an only child surrounded by mountains. She credited her father for her love of nature and traced her love of language to the stories her parents read aloud to her. By the time she attended elementary school, Wilma was writing her own poems, plays, and stories."