The Composer is Dead

The Composer is Dead
written by Lemony Snicket, music by Nathaniel Stookey, illustrations by Carson Ellis, 2009. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. (9780061236280).

Media: watercolor

Awards and Honors: none

Author Website: http://www.lemonysnicket.com/

Illustrator Website: http://www.carsonellis.com/

Annotation:  A droll murder mystery featuring a decomposing composer, a handsome and intelligent inspector and some very suspicious orchestra instruments.

Personal Reaction: Who killed the composer? Was it the sneaky oboes, the boisterous trumpets or the overlooked violas? Lemony Snicket employs his trademark humor in this picture book introduction to the orchestra and its instruments. The instruments personified play the suspects in the murder mystery and are interogated by an over eager inspector. One by one, the inspector eliminates the instruments as suspects until he accuses the conductor of murder. The instruments stick up for the conductor, insisting, "The conductor didn't work alone. All of us have butchered a composer at one time or another". I found this slippery linguistic bait and switch unsatisfying and the play on words may fly over the heads of some younger readers. Ultimately, this is an inventive and original introduction to the orchestra for children, but adults may get the most enjoyment out of Snicket's clever allusions and puns.

Use of Alliteration: "We conquered the concert, battered the band, agitated the audience, rattled the roof..."