The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket

One really interesting thing about this book is that is packaged with a C.D. of an audio recording of the story by Lemony Snicket himself, and music performed by the San Fransisco Symphony. This was the first Lemon Snicket book I had ever read, and I was quite excited to read a book by renowned children's author. I really enjoyed the original, unique illustrations which worked well with the eccentric story line and plot. There were also a lot of introductions to a wide variety of orchestra instruments such as woodwinds, bass, strings, percussion, etc. The book has some very well done, subtle humor as well. For example, one line that made laugh out loud was the following: "The inspector was a very handsome and intelligent person, not unlike myself." There are also some very detailed descriptions of instruments and their role in an orchestra. The violas state bitterly that "We play crucial counter melodies nobody hears." This was a very enjoyable and funny book that would be perfect for older readers such as 4th or 5th graders (due to the amount of text).