Coraline (2002) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Coraline Jones: A girl who likes to go on adventures. Intelligent, curious, resourceful and courageous, but feels ignored by her parents, who both work at home.
• Miss Forcible: One of Coraline's neighbors who share their large house. She lives with Miss Spink and reads tea leaves.
• Father: Coraline's real father. Like Coraline's mother, he's always working at his home office. He's the better cook of the two, but Coraline doesn't care for his recipies.
• Mother: Coraline's real mother.
• Other Mother: Coraline's creepy other mother. She acts like she loves Coraline as her real daughter.
• Other Miss Spink: A counterpart of the real Miss Spink.
• Other Miss Forcible: A counterpart of the real Miss Forcible.
• Mister Bobo: An old man who lives in the flat above Coraline. He claims to be training a circus of mice, who also seem to pass messages along to Coraline.
• The cat: A friend of Coraline's who escapes to the real world with her. He doesn't seem so friendly at first, but warms up by the end of the book.
• The Forgotten Children: Three children who have been kept in a mirror for many years. They lost their souls when they died. Coraline meets them and tries to help them.
• Miss Spink: Coraline's neighbor who loves dogs.
• The Rats: Tiny rodents that are creepy.
• Maddy: Add a description of this character.
• Jemima
• Hamish: a Scottie dog belonging to Miss Forcible and Miss Spink
• Other Father: The counter-part to Coraline's real father.

Quotes edit see section history

• ““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.””

  Coraline and Other Mother

• “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.'”

• “SHE DANCED AND DANCED UNTIL HER FEET TURND INTO SOSSAJES.”

• “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

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Essen
• Home: Coraline's new, but boring Queen Anne style home.
• Other World: Where the other mother and father live with the talking cat and what seems to be a more interesting life.
• Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's flat: Downstairs Coraline's house

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Beldam: A hag or witch.

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

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Neil Gaiman (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Dave McKean (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Bram Stoker Award (2002: Work for Young Readers)
• Nebula (2003: Best Novella, #1)
• Locus Award (2003: Best Young Adult Novel)
• British Science Fiction Association Award (2002, Winner)
• World Fantasy Award (Finalist, 2003: Novella)
• Hugo Award (2003: Best Novella)
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Finalist, 2003: Children's Literature, Finalist)
• Geffen Award (Finalist, 2003: Best Translated Fantasy Book)

Classification edit see section history

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

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror › Spine-Chilling Horror
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( G ) › Gaiman, Neil
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( M ) › McKean, Dave
• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror › Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
• Books › Children's Books › Authors & Illustrators, A-Z › ( G ) › Gaiman, Neil
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( G )
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Children's Books › Ages 9-12

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