"The Composer is Dead" by Lemony Snicket, Illustrated by Carson Ellis

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Bibliographic Citation

Title: The Composer is Dead

Author: Lemony Snicket

Illustrator: Carson Ellis

Year of Publication: 2009

Publisher City: New York

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 978-0-06-123628-0

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

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

Media Used for Artwork: Watercolor, Ink

2009 Students’ List

Awards

·         Time Magazine’s Top Ten Children’s Books of 2009

Annotation

The Inspector tries to solve the case of the murdered Composer by questioning the members of the Orchestra.  All of them are under suspicion but all have an alibi.  So then the question remains, who killed the Composer?

Personal Reaction

                This is such an amusing book that teaches readers about an orchestra and does so in a very creative way, as a murder mystery.  It allows questions to be asked, by the narrator, in this case the Inspector, so that a reader can learn about an orchestra without it becoming a boring lecture.  The author teaches readers about each section of the orchestra and uses advance vocabulary but does so without talking down to the reader.  Snicket’s respect of his readers and their intelligence can allow for a reluctant reader to feel empowered and continue to find other books to read.

                The illustrations are minimalist, usually having just one picture on a page: a fly, a bust, the Inspector, and so on.  The minimalism is continued in the actually drawings.  An example of this is the silhouette’s used when each part of an orchestra is introduced.  This allowed for a visual hint to readers that about with set of instruments was being taught.  The times that the pictures become more elaborate are when the instruments begin to play; scenes are created with music notes dancing through the scene.

A unique feature of this particular book is the accompanying CD which allows for a chance to listen to the story being narrated (by Lemony Snicket aka Daniel Handler) as well as listen to an orchestra perform (composed by Nathaniel Stookey and performed by the San Francisco Symphony).  This allows an opportunity for students to understand the impact of music on narration, adding a depth to the story.  The appreciation of music that is taught in this book and CD is desperately needed in schools now, especially with the continued loss of classes about the arts.

Curriculum: Grade 5- This book and its accompany CD can be used in the teaching about music.  Not only does the book allow children to understand the different sections of an orchestra and the dynamics.  The addition of the CD allows students to listen to the instruments they just learned about. At one point of the book a list of several famous composers is made, which can be a start off point to introduce these famous composers and their works.

Use of simile: When the Inspector talks to the Flutes, they compare to themselves to birds. 

Example: “AHA! the Inspector cried.  “Perhaps you murdered the Composer for making you act like birds!”

Use of repetition: Very early on in the book the Inspector declares how he will find the enemies of the dead composer somewhere in the orchestra, but does this by repeating the beginning of the line but changing the ending.
Example: “I will find them if they are lurking in the strings.  I will find them if they are lurking in the brass.  I will find them if they are lurking in the woodwinds.  I will find them if they are lurking in the percussion section.”

Use of Personification: When the Inspector talks to each section of the orchestra there is no description of individuals (in the text or illustrations), it is as if the instruments themselves are speaking.  This is also done through the illustrations when each section of the orchestra is introduced.  Instead of groups of people it is images of the instruments.
Example: “The Violins answered first, of course.”

Use of Onomatopoeia: The most dominate example of this in the book is when the Inspector repeatedly says “AHA!” after each group of instruments have spoken.

Use of sophisticated language: The use of specific instrumental names will help readers learn about orchestras.  And something amusing that the author does when using difficult words is define it in a unique way.
Example: “Last night was incredibly important for us,” proclaimed the Trumpets in a boisterous manner, a phrase which here means “loudly and with a certain arrogant rudeness.”