The Composer Is Dead

by Lemony Snicket, Carson Ellis (Illustrator)

Overview

There's dreadful news from the symphony hall—the composer is dead!

In this perplexing murder mystery from New York Times bestselling author Lemony Snicket, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead.

Perhaps you will be able to solve it yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061236273
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/03/2009
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education, which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books, including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All the Wrong Questions.

Carson Ellis is the illustrator of a number of books for children, including the Wildwood Chronicles, and is the author and illustrator of the picture books Du Iz Tak?, a Caldecott Honor winner, and Home. Carson lives just outside Portland, Oregon, with her family.

Hometown:

Snicket is something of a nomad. Handler lives in San Francisco, California.

Date of Birth:

February 28, 1970

Place of Birth:

Handler was born in San Francisco in 1970, and says Snicket's family has roots in a land that's now underwater.

Education:

Handler is a 1992 graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Website:

http://www.lemonysnicket.com

Editorial Reviews

A stint narrating live performances of Peter and the Wolf led Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) to collaborate with Stookey on this introduction to the instruments of the orchestra (see "Lemony Snicket Redux," Oct. 27). In true Snicket fashion, the device is a picture book cum police procedural, with a murder investigation functioning as plot. The tone is set by the opening spread, which describes the composer, face down at his desk, "not humming.... not moving, or even breathing." The single line of text on the next page reads: "This is called decomposing." (The illustration shows a large, menacing fly.) The witty wordplay proceeds with the Inspector, a rosy-cheeked Hercule Poirot type in a bowler and pinstripe suit, interrogating each section, beginning with the First Violins, "who have the trickier parts to play," followed by the Second Violins, "who are more fun at parties." Ellis (known for her art for the band The Decemberists as well as for illustrating the Mysterious Benedict Society books) brightens the heavily black stage scenes with coral, gold and sepia accents against expansive white backgrounds. Silhouettes of each instrument add a period feel. The accompanying CD features Snicket narrating and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performing Stookey's original score. A national tour begins March 7 in New York City. Ages 5-up. (Mar.)

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Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 5

Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" has been the gold standard for introducing children to instruments since 1946. The concept has been embraced (some may say enhanced) by none other than Lemony Snicket, whose picture-book overview offers the additional layer of a murder mystery. The CD presentation features music by Nathaniel Stookey, performed by the San Francisco Symphony. The story is well paced, employing wordplay, humor, and mild suspense to build a slow crescendo that originates with the delicate strings and climaxes with percussion. The bombastic Inspector, read by Snicket on the CD, sports pinstripes, a bowler hat, and a handlebar mustache in the book. As he interrogates each section of the orchestra, the instruments describe their whereabouts on the night of the crime in characteristic voices, telling something about their actual roles while offering imagery for the illustrator. Thus, "'We were performing a waltz,' said the Violins. 'We played graceful melodies so the ladies and gentlemen could spin around and around and around until they felt dizzy and somewhat nauseous.'" Ellis's watercolors combine caricatures of the action with silhouettes of the instruments. Evidence leads to the conductor, since "wherever there's a conductor, you're sure to find a dead composer!" Musings on justice versus art point to certain acquittal. Due to the length of the musical portions, it is unlikely that children will listen and read simultaneously. It is quite likely, however, that both formats will provide entertainment and enlightenment, in whatever order they are encountered.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

School Library Journal

In this characteristically unsettling invitation to Meet the Orchestra, the Composer leads off-dead or, as the author puts it, "decomposing" at his desk. Enter the Inspector-bearing a certain resemblance to the aforementioned scrivener (or at least his alter ego) in Ellis's note-strewn, atmospherically wan watercolors-to grill each section of instruments and to pick apart their alibis. When the Inspector at last accuses the Conductor of doing the dirty deed, all of the former suspects step up to declare collective guilt: "All of us have butchered a composer at one time or another. But we also keep composers alive." On the accompanying CD the melodramatic narrative is set to percussive music, which is reprised without the author's reading on a second set of tracks. Conceived as an alternative to "Peter and the Wolf" but more a send-up than an informational visit to the pit, the episode isn't likely to make much of a lasting impression on young audiences. (Picture book. 8-10, adult)

Kirkus Reviews