Rogers, Lisa. Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage. Illustrated by Il Sung Na. Anne Schwartz Books, 2023. 978-0-593-64662-5. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades K-3.

In this uniquely written biography, avant-garde composer John Cage is introduced to young audiences through the use of several “what if” questions. For example, what if all the sounds you heard – garbage trucks screeching, cats hissing, balls bouncing, and so forth – sounded like music to you? The answer to this question (and all of the other questions posed in the book) is “Then you’d be like John Cage.” Using this format, the author introduces John Cage’s atypical style of writing music, his unusual instruments, and several of his notable concerts and performances. Na’s illustrations mirror Cage’s quirky style, placing vibrant, brightly colored dots, squiggles and lines on top of background drawings done in a more muted palette. Further information about John Cage is included in the author’s note, and a list of sources for further exploration is also provided.

THOUGHTS: This unique biography is sure to inspire students to learn more about John Cage and to think outside of the box themselves. Perhaps they’ll even want to experiment with everyday items to make their own distinctive music. A solid addition to any library looking to grow its biography or music sections.

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780 Music