Gaiman, N. (2002). Coraline. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Neil
Gaiman’s novel, Coraline, is a must read
for those who love suspense, mystery and the strange. Coraline has recently
moved to a new flat that was part of a house. She lives with her mother and father, who are both very busy
with things other than Coraline.
Due to the lack of attention she likes to explore the place she calls
home. The other occupants of the
house talk to Coraline but do not really listen to her. One day she discovers a door in her
flat that is locked. Although her
mother unlocked the door to show there was just a brick wall behind it Coraline
is still intrigued. One day she
opens the door to find that the brick wall is gone and what she finds instead
is a very interesting world. In
this new, other world, Coraline is in her other house, adored by her other
parents, finds a talking cat and finds the world fascinating, at first. Like most things, the world begins to
change and things aren’t always what they seem. Coraline must fight to find her
way back to her real parents and her world.
Like
many modern fantasy’s, the setting of Coraline first begins in an ordinary house, with human beings as characters but
transitions into a fantasy world where animals talk and people have black
buttons for eyes. More specific, Coraline is a supernatural events and mystery fantasy. This book fits into this genre because
there is another world where Coraline visits and finds her “other house” and
“other parents” where strange things happen and she must solve the mystery of
the missing souls and parents. The
plot of Coraline is progressive
because the first few chapters introduce the reader to Coraline and her
world. The rising action then
begins once Coraline enters the other world and meets her other parents and the
conflict begins. The conflict in this story is person-against-person. Coraline, the protagonist, is in
opposition with her other mother, the antagonist, over getting home to her
world. Because of this conflict
Coraline’s character changes how she feels towards her real parents and other
situations in her life.
The
targeted audience is middle school aged students, but I think some intermediate
aged students would enjoy it as well.
There are several things that could be discussed during and after
reading this reading book. There
are two themes that students can explore.
One theme found in this book is
“Have courage and do not give up”. Coraline faced several terrifying obstacles and even though
she was scared she continued with her journey and did not give up. Another theme for this book is “Be happy
with what you have”. Coraline was
given the opportunity to have everything that she wanted, or once thought she
wanted, but learned that she was happy with the life she had and didn’t want
everything given to her. The BIG
questions to ask:
- Why do you think Coraline told the “old man” she didn’t want everything just given to her and that it wouldn’t mean anything if it was given to her?
- Have you ever been in a situation that required courage? How did you react and overcome the obstacle?
While reviewing the book list in chapter seven I saw this
title and thought of the movie, Coraline. I have
not seen the movie but have wanted to watch it since it came out in 2009. I like to read the books before
watching the movies so I chose to read this book. I am happy that I decided to read this title, I enjoyed it and found it hard to put it down. There is also a graphic adaptation of this novel, I will be looking for it at my next library visit.
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