Coraline

by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

Book Overview

Neil Gaiman's enchanting, nationally bestselling children's book Coraline is brought to new life by acclaimed artist P. Craig Russell in this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation.

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060825456
• ISBN13: 9780060825454
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Harperalley
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

... for ever and always

Nobody can drench a book in creepy, dank atmosphere like Neil Gaiman -- and it doesn't matter if it's a kid's book. And while some books are drained of their magic and mystery by being turned into graphic novels, "Coraline: The Graphic Novel" doesn't suffer from that problem. It's a haunting little dark fairy tale full of decayed apartments, dancing rats and eerie soulless doppelgangers, and P. Craig Russell graces Gaiman's story with lifelike, eerie illustrations. Newly moved into an aged apartment, Coraline (not "Caroline" is bored. Her parents are too busy to do anything with her, and her neighbors are either insane or boring. It's the sort of relentlessly dull world that any little girl would want to escape from -- until Coraline does. She encounters a formerly bricked-up door that leads into an apartment in another world, which looks eerily like her own. In fact, it's so similar that she has a taloned, button-eyed "other mother" and matching "other father," as well as a chorus of singing, dancing rats and magical toys. At first Coraline is fascinated by the other world, especially since her other parents are very attentive. Then she finds her real parents sealed inside a mirror. With the help of a sarcastic cat, Coraline ventures back into the other world. But with her parents and a trio of dead children held hostage, Coraline's only hope is to gamble with her own freedom -- and she'll be trapped forever if she fails. Neil Gaiman's writing is some of the most vivid and evocative that you'll find in literature, full of nightmarish details and creepy characters. And he infuses this story with a dark fairy-tale vibe -- decayed apartments, dead children in a mirror, beetles, disembodied hands, monsters that cling to the wall with souls in their grip, and rats that sing about how "we were here before you rose, we will be here when you fall." And frankly this graphic novel could have been capital-R RUINED if it had been given "cartoony" artwork, or if it had been sped up or excluded too much of Gaiman's. Fortunately P. Craig Russell doesn't do anything of the sort -- the story unfolds slowly but carefully, and he doesn't cut much out from Gaiman's original novel. And he includes just the right amount of eerie narrative ("her other mother' hand scuttled off Coraline's shoulder like a frightened spider"). Normally it bothers me when a graphic novel describes what is happening in the panels, but somehow it didn't here because of the atmosphere it creates. And Russell's art is brilliantly suited to Gaiman's works, with a very realistic style, detailed expressions and an eye for the subtle stuff. His "other mother" is especially good -- she has a long pasty face with big teeth, with bony taloned fingers and freaky doll-like posture. She looks like a warped version of Coraline's real mom, just as she should. And he brings to life the decayed eerieness of the old apartments, the glitzy stage, and the weird singing rats -- as well as the more

my first graphic novel - impressive!

This book is a graphic adaptation of Gaiman's original novel. It tells the story of Coraline, a curious young girl who discovers a secret door in her house. The door takes her to what seems like a duplicate of her house, with parents that look like hers but have buttons for eyes. They want to keep Coraline and she has to use her bravery and cleverness if she wants to escape from this other world and return to her own. This was the first graphic novel that I have read and I was very impressed. The artwork was done beautifully and really grasped your attention. My only complaint is that it took me much longer to read the book than I expected because I was so interested in every detail of the artwork. The story was very good, and would appeal to older children who enjoy fantasy and horror stories. Some of the pictures are frightening, so I would not recommend it for young children. I am now very interested in going to see the movie!

On The "Other" Side.

From the wicked mind of Neil Gaiman (M is for Magic, The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, Stardust, and recently The Graveyard Book) comes the story of a curious girl who loves to explore called Coraline NOT Caroline mind you. Upon moving into a new flat with her parents Coraline soon becomes bored and goes exploring. She meets some colorful neighbors who in their own way try to warn her of great trouble. One day while exploring her house she comes across a mysterious door. Eventually, once she is on the other side she finds a *very* similar world to her own, but something is also *very* wrong. Will Coraline be able to see past the facade? Will she be able to find her way home again? The story is filled with: adventure, mysterious creatures, talking animals, ghosts, and so much more! Be warned though, even though it is for young children, I did also find this book myself to be quite disturbing and of course *very* dark. I think my main reason for loving this story so much is not just the beautiful illustrations by P. Craig Russell, but because it reminds me fondly of Alice in Wonderland. With magical doors and talking cats. Everyone will enjoy the adventures of Coraline. Just be careful when opening strange doors. You'll never know what you will find!

My daughter loved it!!!

My 10 year old daughter is not a big reader and given her age she's in the "between" stage. I read the book first and could not put it down. After I gave it to her, she could not put it down. She likes it so much she shows it to all of her friends. I definitely reccomend this.

HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL

There are comic writers, and good comic writers, and then there are a select few in an elite class who are simply head and shoulders above the rest. They are like LeBron James playing basketball with guys from a YMCA league. One of these is Neil Gaiman, whose beautiful prose never ceases to amaze. Gaiman's 2003 best-selling novel has been adapted into graphic format by artist P. Craig Russell. Harper Collins describes this as a novel for young readers but that sells the book short. This modern fantasy is perfect for all ages...a kind of modern day Alice in Wonderland although much darker in tone. Coraline (Not Caroline!) has moved into a big house in the country with her parents. The house is shared by elderly, retired actresses Miss Forcible and Miss Spink, who live in the lower flat, and Mr. Bobo, who claims he trains mice, who lives in the upper flat. Coraline is a typical young girl, curious and easily bored. While waiting out a rainy day, she decides to explore the big house and finds a door with a brick wall behind it. He mother explains the house was separated off when it was turned into apartments. But Coraline cannot help but be inquisitive about the mysterious door, especially after it is open when she knows she saw her mother lock it. One day, with her parents away, Coraline opens the door to find the brick wall gone and another apartment on the other side; an apartment almost like her own and yet subtly different. She steps through to find herself in an alternate world. Here, her parents are attentive to her every need and are not busy with work all the time. But her new mother is not quite like her real mom. Her fingers are longer and bonier, and she has coat buttons where her eyes should be. She wants Coraline to stay with her forever! Coraline retreats back to her apartment only to find her parents missing. Now, she'll have to go back to the other mom and use all of her wits and resources to find her real parents and escape back to her world. Coraline is a work of dark, and sometimes disturbing beauty. The last third of the book features very intense imagery as Coraline gambles in a game of wits with her otherworldly mother. As Coraline makes progress in their wager, we see the new mom's loving, cheerful guise begin to fade as a darker side manifests itself. Besides her new parents there are twisted versions of the elderly women and Mr. Bobo to contend with although Caroline will find aid from an unexpected source as she uncovers the secrets in the other apartment. Gaiman crafts a story where a little girl has to find her own identity but also speaks to the idea of family values. We have to sometimes step back from our jobs and everyday stresses to realize what it important to all of us unless we too get caught up in our own dark realities. There is perhaps no better artist suited to tell this story than P. Craig Russell. His fluid, graceful style brings Gaiman's characters to life, often in terrifying