Plot
Coraline Jones and her family have just moved to a new flat. Her parents are busy and Coraline feels lonely and bored, so she goes exploring. When she discovers a strange door her unusual neighbours warn her it is dangerous and not to go through it. Coraline ignores them, opens the door and goes through a passageway, only to find herself in a flat identical to her own, and two ‘other parents’ with button eyes. They seem more interested in her than her own parents, but are they as lovely as they seem, and why do they want to replace her eyes with buttons?
Author – Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman’s website for younger readers
Discover more about Neil Gaiman
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Themes – universal ideas
Accepting other people, choices and consequences, families, fear and bravery, home, imagination, illusion and reality
More to explore – motifs, symbols, context, setting
Adder stones, boredom, buttons, challenges, curiosity, evil mothers in fiction, exploring, garden wildlife, ghosts, mirrors, names, parallel universes, performances, pets, portals, proverbs, shape shifters, snow globes, souls, toys, wells.
Did you know?
Neil Gaiman came up with the name Coraline because he mis-typed the name Caroline.
Coraline has links to a ballad called La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats, which is the story of a knight enchanted by a beautiful, magical woman. He discovers that he is just the most recent of the men she has bewitched, but he cannot bring himself to leave the cold hillside he is lying on in case she returns, even though winter is coming.
It’s not clear whether all this is all just the knight’s imagination – just like in Coraline. In Coraline, the Other Mother is also called the Beldam.
Further reading
Discover these titles and more
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You can explore more of Neil Gaiman’s work on his website, MouseCircus.com.
The Graveyard Book is another brilliant Neil Gaiman story about Bod, who is brought up by the ghosts in the local graveyard. The Library has copies of the original book and the graphic novel.
If you like the idea of a finding a strange doorway in an old house, try The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Lucy discovers Narnia when she opens an old wardrobe. Library copy available.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Alice discovers a strange world when she falls down a rabbit hole, and also meets another talking cat, the enigmatic Cheshire Cat. The Library has copies of the original novel and a graphic novel version.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is stopped in time and can only be reached through an old tunnel. Library copy available.
Reaching other world is a vital part of the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. The Library has copies of the original series and a graphic novel version of Northern Lights.
Sabriel by Garth Nix features an all-knowing cat called Mogget, a cat that reveals his true nature later in the book. Library copy available.
Varjak Paw by S.F. Said is a more realistic cat, and he’s in search of knowledge. Library copy available.
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver is the story of Torak, trying to find a place to belong after the death of his father, complete with pet wolf. The first in the series is Wolf Brother. Library copies available.
Literacy and Language
At the beginning of Coraline is an quotation:
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
This is an epigraph: a short saying or quotation at the beginning of a story that suggests something about the theme of the book.
How do you think this epigraph relates to Coraline?
What genre do you think fits Coraline best? Some people think Coraline is a terrifying horror; some would say it’s an exciting adventure; others suggest fantasy or a modern fairy tale. What would be your suggestion?
Numeracy
There are 14 doors and 21 windows in Coraline’s house. Can you estimate how many rooms there are in her house and suggest what they might be used for? There are some clues in the story but you will probably have to work how some rooms are used for yourself.
Health and Wellbeing
Coraline is bored by herself, but many people think is boredom is good for children and helps mental health.
Can you think of any positive effects of boredom? What do you do when you’re bored?
Rights Respecting Schools
Coraline’s real parents are busy working from home so she has to spend a lot of time by herself.
Do you think they are breaking the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?
Developing the Young Workforce
Coraline repeatedly says she is an explorer.
What skills and qualities do you think an explorer would require?
Does Coraline have these qualities yet?
What do you think she might end up exploring?
