"The composer is dead."

When I saw that it was coming out, I was determined to take a look at the new Lemony Snicket picture book, The Composer is Dead. We saw it at the library and brought it home. I glanced through the book and it seemed okay but a little dry so I set it aside to look at again later. Then tonight, Z and I popped in the CD (narration by Lemony Snicket and music by Nathaniel Stookey), sat down for a read and found to our surprise that the book came alive.

A composer is suspiciously dead and the Inspector believes the murderer is a member of the orchestra. The book follows his questioning of each section and listening to their alibis. It's a simple book with the standard Lemony Snicket wit and word play. The real gem is the CD. It is not only the narration of the book but a full musical score that accompanies it. The music is fresh and bright and I can imagine a class of school kids sitting and enjoying it together. The content and vocabulary of the book make it appropriate for a slightly older age group than the standard picture book but I think that even Z got something out of it. Luckily, it's one that we can keep coming back to for some time.

Enjoying composers over their dead bodies,
K and Z


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