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Coraline
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Coraline (2002) (edit title/settings)

by Neil Gaiman (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring. In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.
The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall. At least, that's what it seems to be. Until one... read more

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

  • - Coraline is not thankful for what she has, but might learn to be when she goes to a dangerous, creepy mirror world.
  • - Coraline is moving into a new home and discovers a passage to a secret world.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Coraline: She is a young, curious and an adventurous girl who hates being ordinary and must save everything that she holds dear. She considers herself an explorer.
  • Mother: Coraline's real mother.
  • Father: Coraline's real father. Always makes recipes.
  • The Other Mother/The Beldam: Coraline's other mother.
  • The Other Father: Coraline's other father.
  • Miss Spink and Miss Forcible: The strange, retired actresses that live in the flat below Coraline. They keep a lot of dogs.
  • The Other Misses Spink and Forcible: Still the young, beautiful and talented actresses and acrobats.
  • Mr. Bobo: The crazy man that lives in the flat above Coraline.
  • The Other Crazy Man Upstairs: The other world version of Mr. Bobo.
  • Mr. Bobo's Mouse Circus: A group of white mice that are being tamed by the Crazy Old Man Upstairs. They tell Mr. Bobo messages to give to Coraline.
  • The Black Rats: They are the companions of the Other Crazy Man Upstairs.
  • The Forgotten Children: Three children from past times, trapped in a closet in the other world by the other mother. Coraline tries to get their souls back from the Other Mother. One is a young boy who wears knee-high trousers. One is a young girl who is wearing a pilgrim style dress and bonnet. And the last is a young girl who flies rather than walks and she's wearing a white gown with a silver halo in her hair and "butterfly" wings coming out of her back.
  • Wyborn: He does not appear in the book, only in the movie. Coraline's friend. AKA Wybe.
Show all 13 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “SHE DANCED AND DANCED UNTIL HER FEET TURND INTO SOSSAJES.”
  • “You are not my mother, and I want to go home!”
    Coraline
  • “But Mom, everyone at school has gray blouses and everything, no one's got green gloves! I could be the only one!”
    Coraline
  • “And Coraline barely noticed when she crawled catlike onto her grandmother's uncomfortable armchair and fell into a deep sleep . . .”
    Narrator
  • “I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything? What then?”
    Coraline
  • “There are those who have suggested that the tendency of a cat to play with its prey is a merciful one - after all, it permits the occasional funny little running snack to escape, from time to time. How often does your dinner get to escape?”
    The black cat
  • “Fairy Tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten”
  • “We are small but we are many we are many we are small we were here before you rose we will be here when you fall”
  • “We have teeth and we have tails we have tails awe have eyes we were here before you fell you will be here when we rise”
  • “We have eyes and we have nerveses we have tails we have teeth You'll all get what you deserveses when we rise from underneath”
  • “'What's your name?' Coraline asked the cat. 'Cats don't have names.' it said. 'Now you people have names. Thats because you, don't know who you are, We know who you are. We know who we are so we don't need names.'”
  • “Nobody sensible believes in ghosts anyway--that's because they're all such liars.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “You really don’t understand, do you?” she said. “I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn’t mean anything. What then?”
    Highlighted by 129 Kindle customers
  • “No,” said the cat. “Now, you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.”
    Highlighted by 122 Kindle customers
  • It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.
    Highlighted by 120 Kindle customers
  • “when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.”
    Highlighted by 116 Kindle customers
  • We are small but we are many We are many we are small We were here before you rose We will be here when you fall.
    Highlighted by 82 Kindle customers
  • “Calling cats,” it confided, “tends to be a rather overrated activity. Might as well call a whirlwind.”
    Highlighted by 70 Kindle customers
  • The sky had never seemed so sky, the world had never seemed so world.
    Highlighted by 70 Kindle customers
  • Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. —G. K. Chesterton
    Highlighted by 65 Kindle customers
  • “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline. “I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.” “Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline. “Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
    Highlighted by 58 Kindle customers
  • Oh—my twitchy witchy girl I think you are so nice, I give you bowls of porridge And I give you bowls of ice Cream. I give you lots of kisses, And I give you lots of hugs, But I never give you sandwiches With bugs In.
    Highlighted by 56 Kindle customers
Show all 22 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.

Table of Contents edit see section history

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Adventure: Coraline is adventurous. This spirit of adventure allows her to grow throughout the book as she transitions into being a young adult.
  • Imagination: Coraline's imagination allows her to escape the boredom that is her life. By using her creativity, she is never alone, and she is able to transform herself into someone that is extraordinary.
  • Courage and Bravery: As Coraline battles the evil in the Other Realm, she learns that courage and bravery must be kept at all costs, especially when loved ones depend on her.
  • Death: Coraline learns that reality can be harsh, even for the innocent. Death cannot be escaped once it occurs.
  • Caution: Coraline learns that caution and weariness of strangers is always best, even if they wear a guise of a loved one.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Movie Tie-Ins 2009. (community list)
This is book 53 of 95 in Estrela do Mar. (community list)

Preceded by Teodora e os Três Potes Mágicos, and followed by The High King's Daughter (Circle of Magic, Book 6).

Preceded by My Family and Other Animals, and followed by Carrie's War (Puffin Modern Classics).

This is book 190 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by The Vampire Lestat, and followed by The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

This is book 193 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Bridge to Terabithia, and followed by The Thirteenth Tale.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Neil Gaiman (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Dave McKean (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Country: USA
Publication Date: Jul-2002
ISBN: 9780061139376
Page Count: 162

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.G1273 Co 2002
  • Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

The copy of the first edition recommends the book for those who are eight years and older. If your child is not a fan of dark fantasies or dark fairy tales, she or he might not want to read it by themselves. I recommend reading it as a family purely because it is a timeless classic for all ages. Plus, the company of a trusted loved one will make it less scary for those who are sensitive.

Movie Connections edit see section history

  • Coraline (2009) (IMDb): An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Book of Lost Things

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