Picture Book Review: The Composer Is Dead

Weekly Geeks
April 2nd was International Children's Book Day. And April is National Poetry Month. In celebration, I have two lovely options for you this week:
Option A: Be a kid!You could read a picture book (or two or three) and share what you read.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Humor/Mystery

Release Date: 3/3/2009

About the Book: The composer is dead-and someone in the orchestra is to blame! The inspector must question all the instruments for they all seem to have a motive, but they also have an alibi. Who killed the composer?

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Ok, I will admit that I got through only four books in the Series of Unfortunate Events because I just couldn't take all the terrible stuff those poor Baudelaire orphans had to deal with! Even though I couldn't finish the series, I did like Lemony Snickett's humor, so I was eager to pick up this new picture book.

The Composer Is Dead is lots of fun and it had me laughing. I thought maybe I appreciated some of the jokes because my mom is a music teacher and I've grown up around classical music and played the clarinet briefly in elementary school. But I gave it to my fiance, who is not a musical person at all, and he enjoyed reading it as well, so I'm sure there's something for everyone.

The best part of the book is that it comes with a CD which includes the author reading the book along with accompaniment from the San Francisco Symphony. The second half of the CD is the music only, with no narration. This makes reading the book with the CD a treat, since you get to hear the waltz from the strings and bird sounds from the flutes. The illustrations are simple, which might make the story somewhat long for younger children and due to the length of the CD, it's probably not the shortest read-aloud picture book.

Overall, I think this is a fun way to introduce readers to classical music. There's plenty of humor for children and adults, which makes this a book I wouldn't mind reading more than once. I would definitely recommend this to any musicians or music lovers of all ages!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Post Downton Abbey Reading List

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles): A couple Julian Fellowes reads: And a few re-reads: Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?

Tween Tuesday: Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars Genre: Magical Realism Release Date: 3/4/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Polly Peabody lives on a magical farm. They grow chocolate rhubarb, it rains every Monday at exactly 1:00, and her best friend is a plant named Harry. When the rain stops, Polly's brother falls ill, and her aunt wants to sell the farm, Polly must figure out a way to save her beloved home. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Drizzle is on our state book list and one of our Chat & Chew book club picks. The kids reviews were mixed on this one and sadly, it was my least favorite of all the books we read for Chat & Chew. The kids that liked it said it had action, but for me the plot was slow and dragged too much. The book could have been edited down and I lost interest in the story. I liked the magical farm that Polly lived on, but the magic wasn't enough to hold my interest. I felt like the plot went around in circles too much and never got going. The ending was also a bit

GreenBeanTeenQueen

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