Oh, WOW! I LOVED this book!!!! I love the entire creation--the words, the illustrations, the music. It is AMAZING! First of all, it is so very, very FUNNY! Humor is always so subjective but this just absolutely clicked with me. OMG! Witty stuff here. I love the personalities that Snicket assigns to the various instruments. For example, the "The violin section is divided inot the First Violins, who have the trickier parts to play, and the Second Violins, who are more fun at parties." The inspecto More...

Yesterday I played the CD of this to my fourth class and showed them the illustrations (from the F&G I got at last week's HarperCollins' spring preview). It is terrific!

When I told the kids we were going to listen to something by Lemony Snicket several announced that they'd HATED the Unfortunate Event books. But of course --- these are fall fourth graders, after all, and I suspect those that disliked the books only picked them up (as 3rd or even 2nd graders) because friends were liking them More...

Remember the days when kids would learn about the different instruments of the orchestra by attending mandatory orchestral performances of Peter and the Wolf? Well, go to bed, old man! Kids today don’t have time for stories of wolves and boys and lucky/unlucky duckys. Not them. No, these days to grasp a child’s attention fully it takes nothing short of murder. Cold-blooded, tastefully adapted, deeply illustrated murrrrderrrrr (roll them r’s about your tongue). A shot has been cast across the bro More...

Opening exerpt:

"The Composer is Dead.

"Composer" is a word which here means "a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play." This is called composing. But last night, the Composer was not muttering. He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing.

This is called decomposing."

Nicely illustrated by Carson Ellis. Comes with an audio CD (reading + music) too!

It's like "Peter and The Wolf" except, Lemony Snicket. (I was going to say "better", but I realized that I actually like Peter and The Wolf".)

It's very clever, and the lady who illustrated the liner notes for most of The Decemberists albums illustrated this.

Lemony Snicket has struck again....he is a genius...GENIUS, I say! Many you know that I loved The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket...and I recently blogged my review of his book, The Lump of Coal, which I loved,as well. I may venture to say that this is my favorite one of his books yet. It is a picture book that includes a free cd (if you happen to check this out at the library, be certain that the cd is there inside the front cover!!!). I read the book in a matter of minutes and i More...

The first time I ever heard of Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead, was before this book was ever published. Mr. Snicket and his dear old friend, and composer, Nathaniel Stookey, had been commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony to create a theatrical orchestral piece to encourage youth to become more involved with classical music. A sort of Peter and the Wolf for modern children.

This piece landed at the LA Phil (www.laphil.org) and I promptly took my budding cellist of a daughter to see it. More...

“Composer” is a word which here means “a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play.” This is called composing. But last night, the Composer was not muttering. He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing.
This is called decomposing.”

The book combines simple, but perfectly fitting illustrations, witty and humorous text, amazing music and narration and a funny mystery. Officially this has become one of my favourite pi More...

This was tremendously entertaining, with some added amusement that was unintended by the author. The book involves the investigation of an orchestra by a detective who is trying to discover why "the composer is dead." It contains a lot of funny digs at different orchestral stereotypes, including a number of veiled inside jokes and puns, as the detective interviews each section of the orchestra as suspects in the murder case. What makes it really shine, though, is that it is also an audiobook: ea More...

I don't think it is possible for me to love Lemony Snicket (and by extension, Daniel Handler) anymore than I already do! I have toed around with listening to The Composer is Dead ever since finding a copy at Half Price for $1. Unfortunately, it did not have the CD with it:-(

Never fear, I got a copy of the CD from the library and listened to the audio of this genius tale! While listening to Daniel Handler on NPR, he discussed the reasons behind writing this book. He had been asked to narrate a pe More...

The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket is a dark, clever, and hilarious piece by piece introduction to the orchestra wrapped around a mystery. Pure musical brilliance!

As the Inpsector investigates the composer’s death, readers are witness and privy to all sorts of entertaining musical lessons and history. Each instrument comes to life with sound, background, and an alibi. From the “wimpy” flutes to the “arrogant” trumpets, the voices and attitudes of the instruments will have readers learning an More...

Originally posted at Libri Ago.

★★★★★★★*

The moment I saw Lemony Snicket's name on the cover of The Composer Is Dead at the library the other day, I knew I had to read it. I knew it would be funny; what I wasn't expecting was this musical masterpiece.

The story is somewhat basic: a composer has been murdered, and the detective must sound out the man, er, instrument who committed the crime. The text, however, isn't what makes this book so amazing.

This isn't just a picture book, nor is it just an au More...

I picked this book up at our local library after seeing it on the shelf. I thought Bianca would like it given how much she's into composing music. And this book is really funny. A composer is found dead and there's an investigation of who was responsible for the composer's death. They go through all the different instruments and sections in the orchestra who could be responsible. Bianca particularly liked the part where they forget about the violas, as everyone does. The french horn section was More...

The Composer is Dead is a pretty sophisticated picture book. The plot is simple- the composer is dead, and the Inspector is interrogating the various instruments in the orchestra to find out who’s responsible. The humor, vocabulary, and need for context are not simple at all. I “got” the jokes, but I’m not the target audience for picture books. My four year old, who is in the target audience for picture books, loves music, and always wants me to identify the individual instruments in orchestral More...

This story, written by the same author as A Series of Unfortunate Events, provides a darkly humorous introduction to the orchestra. The composer is found dead and an inspector begins interrogating the different sections of the orchestra. The strings all had alibis; the woodwinds fend off the blame and pass the inspector on to the 'violent lot' of brass. The case's culprit is a twist I should have seen coming but didn't.

This book uses a blend of sarcasm, word definitions, instrument stereotypes, More...

I got this book only because I was intrigued by what picture book Snicket would come up with this time. To my surprise, I read it with great enjoyment. I thought it was very clever, and humorous besides. I also liked the personification of orchestral sections. I thought there was a great message at the end, too.

Luckily, before I about turned the book back in, I took a closer look at the cover. I read "Music By Nathaniel Stookey." "There's music?!" I thought. I wondered if it meant the music note More...

Snicket, L. (2009). The Composer is Dead. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.



9780061236280



Music teachers! Pay attention! This book is wonderful for you (and for others, but especially for you).



The composer is dead (just in case you couldn’t tell be the title). Since the death is suspicious, an investigator is called in to solve the mystery. He questions the various instruments that make up an orchestra, searching for the most likely suspect. What follows is an introduction to the orchestra and a More...

Ok, I will admit that I got through only four books in the Series of Unfortunate Events because I just couldn't take all the terrible stuff those poor Baudelaire orphans had to deal with! Even though I couldn't finish the series, I did like Lemony Snickett's humor, so I was eager to pick up this new picture book.

The Composer Is Dead is lots of fun and it had me laughing. I thought maybe I appreciated some of the jokes because my mom is a music teacher and I've grown up around classical music and More...

The Composer is Dead is a fascinating book that seamlessly weaves together narrative, illustrations, and sound. Lemony Snicket is, as previously demonstrated in his middle grade Series of Unfortunate Events books, incredibly clever and great at building tension. Like his novels, this book is hilarious but with an underlying hint of darkness that adds to the reading experience. Carson Ellis's watercolor illustrations are beautiful, sweeping works of art that evoke and complement the accompanying More...

When the shocking discovery is made that the composer is dead, it's up to the dashing and fashionable Inspector to question the entire orchestra and identify the culprit.

This is one of the obscure Lemony Snicket books that I had actually heard of, but still never had a chance to read until now. I thought this was a fun book. It was a cursory introduction to the various members of the standard orchestra, from strings to woodwinds to brass to percussion and beyond. Each instrument had a distinct c More...

The Composer is Dead is Lemony Snicket's version of Roland Barthes' essay, "Death of the Author," targeted with fun illustrations towards kids. It doesn't actually get very into the implications of the death of the creator, besides the fact that we can ruin their works or change their intent... but it is a great introduction to all the members of the orchestra, their instruments, and what characterizes them. It's also a fun foray into the detective tale, as we follow an inspector plagued with th More...

I read this in a bookstore yesterday to see if it would appeal to any kids in the family, so in that setting, my rating is obviously on the book itself and no thought given to the CD inside. I thought the story was a good introduction to the orchestra for children, more so than Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf because of the explanations offered during the story rather than just a story itself. (Though, I still love Peter and the Wolf.) My only complaint is that the book also reinforced stereotype More...

I am excited for the day when I have the opportunity to play The Composer is Dead in my own classroom. The entire idea of staging a murder investigation in an orchestra setting was unique and delightful - exactly what I have come to expect from Lemony Snicket. As a proud former band geek, I so enjoyed the personification of the various instruments throughout the Inspector's interviews. As an alibi, the flutes claim to be "much too wimpy and high-pitched for murder!" and the tuba is a "confirmed More...

A lovely, completely unusual experience (what else would you expect from Lemony Snicket?). I read through the picture book while listening to it being narrated on the CD. I loved it, despite the slightly uneven pace and pauses, but I can see how it would be a challenge for kids to sit through (I think it took close to half an hour). The illustrations (by Carson Ellis) were gorgeous, and the story had me laughing. The percussion part was full of funny wordplay.

It's basically a picture book for a More...

When the Composer is found dead, the Inspector interrogates the members of the orchestra, from the strings to the brass. They all maintain their innocence, and each has a comical alibi; the violins, for example, proclaim they would never have murdered the Composer, for if they had, they “would have to find work at square dances or in romantic restaurants.” Ellis’ pen-and-watercolor illustrations lend an old-fashioned feel. Darkly humorous in the vein of Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events ser More...

Book without CD gets 1 star.
Book with CD gets 5 stars.

Without the CD, this book is almost worthless, a word which here means "a complete and utter waste of time, even if it is mildly amusing and educational."

Fortunately, with the CD it's fun. The music is great, and hearing Lemony Snicket read it is a treat. It was a little slow for my boys (ages 6 and almost 4), but my daughter (age 8) liked it a lot and said, "I bet my music teacher at school would LOVE it."

Surprisingly, one of the best pages More...

I'd heard about this at a recent college audition, and from the descriptions (which mostly consisted of hinting at a part, and then expressing shared sentiment about how awesome it was) my curiosity was naturally piqued. Being a musician myself, and being familiar with the various members of the orchestral family and their demeanors, I especially appreciated this gem.
It's good enough as-is, but it's improved immensely with the included disk. The first nine tracks are the author narrating it in s More...

When Jessica read this last semester when we shared a book from our MTS, I fell in love with this book. I am a huge music fan. I play in an orchestra at my church and I love listening to music. This book is a great way to introduce students, any age to what an orchestra is about and all the different instruments in the classroom. This brings music into the classroom. Also, I would love to have this version, because the book has a CD that has the story, but also has just the music on it, which wo More...

I see this book as a creative way to teach kids about the different sections of the orchestra. I listened to the CD and it totally made this book come alive for me. I upped my score by 2 stars. If you get this from the library, be sure the CD is with it and listen as you read!!

As an adult I tolerate very few children's writers but Lemony Snicket is so clever, never patronizing and outrageous that I willingly read everything with his name on it. I heard him interviewed recently and found that he grew up in a home that valued classical music. Like most of us he heard "Peter and The Wolf," by Prokofiev, when he was young, and like most of us thought the story was awful. With a friend of his who is a classical composer they wrote this introduction to the orchestra as a fu More...