Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Snicket's musical mystery begins with a murder. A comically overzealous inspector then interrogates each section of the orchestra. Puns and wordplay figure heavily while information about the instruments is imparted. Delicate line illustrations with lots of white space help readers navigate the tale's deliberate cacophony. A CD of the story read by Snicket, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony, is included. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
This irreverent picture book is built somewhat along the lines of Who Killed Cock Robin?, but imbued with Snicket's charmingly snide wit. The Composer is dead ( This is called decomposing ) and the Inspector is called in to uncover the murderer or murderers. The sections of the orchestra are personified as the Inspector interrogates the Violins and Woodwinds and Trumpets and even the Conductor. Each has an alibi, though by the end it becomes clear that they are all complicit in the butchering of countless dead composers. The artwork alternates between silhouettes of instruments, the indignant Inspector accusingly pointing his finger, and chaotic, playful interpretations of waltzes and marches as notes and ligatures swirl about. An accompanying CD features a comically dramatic reading by Snicket set against a mishmash of music that integrates motifs from various classical sources. The whole slightly macabre package is great fun, and while many youngsters will miss the clever wordplay and wry twist at the end, this still winds up being a fairly good overview of each orchestral section's role in bringing music to life. Or death.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2008 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this characteristically unsettling invitation to Meet the Orchestra, the Composer leads offdead or, as the author puts it, "decomposing" at his desk. Enter the Inspectorbearing a certain resemblance to the aforementioned scrivener (or at least his alter ego) in Ellis's note-strewn, atmospherically wan watercolorsto 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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
