THE MUSEUM OF NOTHING

Nothing equals something.

Pals Oona and Otto visit the Museum of Nothing. In the Nobody Room, they’re greeted by a sign featuring lines from Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” and a “statue” of the Invisible Man “stands” on a base. (Otto shakes hands.) The Blank Library contains books with empty pages, while the Zero Wing displays works of art that depict the number zero in several languages (along with a portrait of actor Zero Mostel, his head shaped like a zero). The kids visit the gift shop and, upon arriving home, announce they saw NOTHING! at the museum. This cheeky, overly hip metaphysical journey will appeal to adults more than children—though the Hall of Holes is kid-level fun—and will require much explaining from grown-ups. References to “Yayoi, Kaholo, and Ono” on a sign will likely go over youngsters’ heads, as will Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None in the Blank Library. An appendix, “The Catalog of the Museum of Nothing,” is a boon, even for adults. Still, crisp ink and digitally colored illustrations include numerous cleverly embedded zeroes and letter Os to represent the concept of “nothing”; children will enjoy scouring the pages to locate them and may want to illustrate their own ideas about nothingness. Blond, pale-skinned Oona and dark-haired, brown-skinned Otto wear clothes featuring zeroes. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Much ado about a lot of stuff most youngsters won’t fully get or appreciate.