Every once in a while, I read a book with the little boys that fills me with such passion I must share it on my blog. Last night, we opened a book by Lemony Snicket, author of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, called The Composer is Dead. We noticed that it came with an accompanying CD and so I ran to get the portable CD player.
The boys listened to half of it last night (it was a bit longer than I had anticipated, with 16 tracks). Trevor actually came and begged me to play the second half, this afternoon, after he had finished his lunch.
It was utterly delightful! Like the Peter and the Wolf introduction to the orchestra which I heard when I was a small schoolchild, this book will no doubt be the modern version shared with schoolchildren today. I considered it quite an accomplishment for the musical bits to hold and maintain my small sons' attention spans. They remarked over the dolourous notes which accompanied the word "dead."
The story is introduced with the startling announcement that the composer is dead, no longer composing, but now "decomposing." An inspector is called in to investigate the problem and he proceeds to interrogate the members of the orchestra, providing ample opportunity for each section to shine and provide various alibis.
But, better than my explanation, you should really watch this brief video which captures in six minutes, the whole splendid affair, including commentary by the actual composer of the piece and the author of the book. You won't regret the time. And you may even find yourself following the link, to purchase this masterpiece for one of your nearest and dearest, perhaps as a present for an upcoming birthday or Christmas present. Indeed, the composer is dead, but a new love of orchestra may just be beginning!
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