Dan Brown Announces Picture Book with Random House Children’s Books

Best-selling author Dan Brown has over 220 million books in print (The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, Inferno, to name a few), but the fact that he’s been a lifelong musician is less known.

His debut children’s picture book Wild Symphony (Random House Children’s Books, illustrated by Susan Batori) will be accompanied by his first official music release since his writing career began. Wild Symphony is “scored” to music like a movie, offering a multi-sensory experience for children and adults to listen to and read together. Parents download a free smartphone app, which uses augmented reality (AR) to play aloud classic pieces—written by Brown—when held over each corresponding page.

The book follows Maestro Mouse, who gathers his animal friends to form and orchestra and put on a concert. The adorably illustrated cheetahs, kangaroos, elephants, blue whales and other music-playing animals also offer children themes around mindfulness and community.

“With Wild Symphony, I was excited to build on this idea and create a truly layered experience by using three different languages simultaneously—art, music, and words,” says Brown. “In the same way that an opera captivates its audience by presenting beautiful sets, dramatic music, and lyrical drama, this book strives to be an immersive feast for eyes, ears, and mind, all at the same time.”

And in true Dan Brown fashion, the author also buried secrets and codes into his work. Every page in Wild Symphony conceals letters, which, when discovered and placed in the correct order, spell out the names of musical instruments.

Wild Symphony is for children ages 3-7 and will be available for purchase September 1, 2020. Get a sneak peek of the book and the classical music (performed by the Zagreb Festival Orchestra in Croatia) here.