By: Neil Gaiman Publisher: HarperCollins Average Rating: Binding: Library Binding Label: HarperCollins Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: July 01, 2008 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Release Date: June 24, 2008
When Coraline steps through a door in her family's new house, she finds another house, strangely similar to her own (only better). At first, things seem marvelous. The food is better than at home, and the toy box is filled with fluttering wind-up angels and dinosaur skulls that crawl and rattle their teeth.
But there's another mother there and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and all the tools she can find if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.
This beloved tale has now become a visual feast. Acclaimed artist P. Craig Russell brings Neil Gaiman's enchanting nationally bestselling children's book Coraline to new life in this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation.
Amazon.com Review: Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious.
What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
:) This is a wonderful book! I loved every word of it. I've read it about, seven times.
Coraline by Caroline Since the movie came out (which I have not seen at this point in time), friends have been calling me "Coraline" instead of my namesake "Caroline." This number grew to the point where I felt almost obligated to see it, when I discovered that it was a book and decided to go in that direction instead.
For many years, I have loved classic childrens' fantasy works such as those by Lloyd Alexander, George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, and many others. Recently, I'd had a hard time finding the sort of joy and satisfaction from other fantasy novels for the younger ones until I read this.
Coraline was the embodiment of a well told story where the character grows yet doesn't fail to entertain. In fact, this book entertains so as to be delightfully creepy and really took me back into a childlike state of mind.
This is the first book I've read by Neil Gaiman but I do eventually plan to read more of his works if they are as vivid as Coraline.
Too scary for kids This book is definitly way too scary for kids. I'm an adult and I was very scared. It is well written, however, and a real page turner. It's sick and twisted though. Maybe a 12 year old could take it, but I wouldn't give it to anyone younger than that.
Excellent quick read Coraline is the first book I have read by Neil Gaiman, and I was not disappointed. Though the book is written for a young adult audience, it's also well suited to older readers - thought it is an awfully quick read. I really enjoyed the imagery the book summons up, the descriptions of scenery in the "other mothers" house and grounds was particularly good. Coraline is a creepy story that brings to mind the things you had nightmares of as a child, but, as with any good fairy tale, good triumphs over evil in the end and one is able to put those nightmares to rest. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.
She's as cute as a button. This is a children's book by noted author Neil Gaiman. Coraline explores her house and discovers an alternate world ruled by her "Other Mother". I don't want to reveal more, but if you've seen the movie, the book's plot is similar. But the book is even creepier than the movie.
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