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Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Date of Publication: 2002
ISBN: 0439576881
Number of Pages: 162
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REQUIRED READING ABILITY:
Low
GENRES: Fantasy
THEMES: Good versus Evil, Appearance versus
Reality, Family
SUMMARY:
Coraline is used to entertaining herself. Her parents both work
at home, and when they interact with her at all, they treat her like a
self-sufficient, miniature adult. Coraline doesn’t mind being overlooked,
since her new house has lots of unusual co inhabitants and places to explore.
When she experiences her first really rainy day in her new house, however,
she sets out on a course of exploration that results in much more than
she bargained for. Before her experiences are finished, she will lose
and retrieve her parents, save the souls of three lost beings, make good
friends with a talking cat, and battle an entity that will stop at nothing
to keep Coraline as her own little girl for all time…
WHO
WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...
- likes weird
stuff
- likes creepy
elements and touches of the ridiculous
- likes a
strong female protagonist
- feels overlooked
by his or her parents
- enjoys the
idea of alternative realities and parallel worlds
WHAT ELSE?
Coraline won, or was nominated for, a whopping 17 literary
awards, including the Nebula and the Hugo Awards. Neil Gaiman has also
written two popular and wacky picture books, each with Dave McKean as
illustrator.
RELATED LINKS:
Official Neil Gaiman Web
site
Linda Richards.
“January Interview: Neil Gaiman”
Janet
Kay Blaylock. “The Annual Back to School Column: Neil Gaiman’s
Coraline”
Neil
Gaiman Presents: Mr. Bobo’s Remarkable Mouse Circus
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