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P. Craig Russell

Coraline Paperback – April 24, 2012

by Neil Gaiman (Author), Dave McKean (Illustrator)

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This edition of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman’s modern classic, Coraline—also an Academy Award-nominated film—is enriched with a foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and more.

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

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 to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Neil Gaiman's Coraline is a can't-miss classic that enthralls readers age 8 to 12 but also adults who enjoy a perfect smart spooky read.

Reading age

9+ years, from customers
Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Grade level

3 - 7
Lexile measure

740L
Dimensions

5.13 x 0.42 x 7.63 inches
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

April 24, 2012
ISBN-10

0380807343
ISBN-13

978-0380807345
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

“Spiders’ webs only have to be large enough to catch flies.”
Highlighted by 1,112 Kindle readers
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 1,014 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gaiman’s tale is inventive, scary, thrilling and finally affirmative. Readers young and old will find something to startle them.” (Washington Post Book World)

“A modern ghost story with all the creepy trimmings…Well done.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Coraline is by turns creepy and funny, bittersweet and playful…can be read quickly and enjoyed deeply.” (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review)

“A magnificently creepy story. Coraline is spot on.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“Gaiman’s pacing is superb, and he steers the tension of the tale with a deft and practiced narrative touch.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, rise to your feet and applaud: Coraline is the real thing.” (Philip Pullman, The Guardian)

“The most splendidly original, weird, and frightening book I have read, and yet full of things children will love.” (Diana Wynne Jones)

“It has the delicate horror of the finest fairy tales, and it is a masterpiece.” (Terry Pratchett)

“An electrifyingly creepy tale likely to haunt young readers for many moons.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“ Walk through the door and you’ll believe in love, magic, and the power of good over evil.” (USA Today)

“So wonderfully whimsical that readers of all ages will hungrily devour itCoraline is destined to become a classic. (Globe and Mail (Toronto))

“Chilly, finely-wrought prose, a truly weird setting and a fable that taps into our most uncomfortable fears.” (Times Educational Supplement)

“A deliciously scary book that we loved reading together as a family.” (Orson Scott Card)

“Beautifully spooky. Gaiman actually seems to understand the way children think. ” (Christian Science Monitor)

“A frighteningly realistic fantasy. Lean crisp prose adds to the suspense and propels the story, and the eerie black-and-white illustrations by Dave McKean heighten the nightmarish quality of the tale.” (Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA))

“Kids will hang on every word. Coraline is a character with whom they will surely identify, and they will love being frightened out of their shoes. This is just right for all those requests for a scary book.” (School Library Journal (starred review))

From the Back Cover

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

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 to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Celebrating ten years of Neil Gaiman's first modern classic for young readers, this edition is enriched with a brand-new foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and more.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; Reprint,Anniversary edition (April 24, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380807343
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380807345
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9+ years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 740L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.42 x 7.63 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #13,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books)
- #30 in Children's Halloween Books (Books)
- #114 in Children's Parents Books

Customer Reviews:
13,888 ratings

About the authors

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Neil Gaiman
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Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, and The Graveyard Book. Among his numerous literary awards are the Newbery and Carnegie medals, and the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner awards. He is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College.
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P. Craig Russell
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Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951 in Wellsville, Ohio), also known as P. Craig Russell, is an American comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by MichaelNetzer (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Lovern Kindzierski
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Customer reviews

5 star		86%
4 star		10%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

BUY. THIS. BOOK.

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2019

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i read this book a while back at around the time the movie came out. i am 21 years old now and this book is even better now than the last time i read it.
i am by no means a book worm—i literally read math books and the bible and that’s it haha—but every time i read this book, there is even more suspense and the visualization of what is happening is BETTER than the movie. and i discover something new every time. i’ve been watching youtube videos to get other people’s take on the book and it’s just so fascinating.
so i urge you, join the conversation! you won’t regret it. :)

93 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2020

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“Who doesn’t like games”.
Like a lot of people I will say I saw the movie when I was younger, and to this day it’s still one of my favorites, it’s a go to for sure. I have Cosplayed Coraline for Comic-Con, and I have a Caroline button tattoo. So, we know I love it.
But I had never read the book! To be honest I didn’t know who wrote it either, a fail on my part. However when I found it oh boy, I had to read it.
- [ ] Neil Gaiman has an ability to write amazing stories, filled with great description and definitely spookiness. If you don’t know the story of Coraline, it’s about a little girl who goes through a doorway in her house to her other house and finds her “other parents “ and they want her to stay forever! But of course something has to change with her too. Go through the story to see what the real world and other world have to offer. A very creepy story with creepy but amazing illustrations by Dave McKean go and see what this book has to offer. Also, if you get the 10the anniversary edition which I suggest you do, read Gaiman’s forward and questions at the end too. A fiver out of five buttons....I mean stars.

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35 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020

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I read this book in 3 days, that's how good it was. Just to put into perspective, I am the laziest kid ever and I just sit around and speedrun Little Nightmares, so it's a rare occasion to catch me reading on my own. First, it is creepy but not too creepy, just enough to make you uneasy. It has a good plot and I loved the ending, it was S O good. I love horror books and movies, horror movies are the only thing I watch, and it's nice to see uncomfort and kind of / not really thrill in a book. Not trying to go off topic, but some other horror books like IT weren't good at all. I know I should be writing a bad review for that book and not in this review, but it was terrible. Not only did I not get scared once, but it could be excessively confusing at times and felt lazily written. DON'T BUY IT. Anyways, Coraline is my new favorite creepy book and I will definitely be reading it again in the near future.

25 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2020

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I bought this for my daughter who has always loved the movie. She recently became interested in reading how the book differed from the movie and this was a really good experience for her. This book has everything that you need to keep you interested and turning pages. Funny, complex characters that really keep you engaged in the story. It also had a few good moral lessons. All in all I think this is a really good read for any age.

12 people found this helpful

Way more fun than Alice in Wonderland, equal to Narnia :=)

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2017

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I loved this story! Many 5-star reviews already say what I think about the author's writing, so there's no use repeating - I'll settle for giving it 5 stars for a clean entertaining fairytale for us older folks who can't abide most modern authors. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Alice in their lifetime.

32 people found this helpful

Scary Adventure Story

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019

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As an adult I liked this story. It was freaky and dark but I enjoyed it and it left me with a good feeling.

However, I wouldn't allow my 10 yr old daughter to read this. It seems like the message is, "You have to solve your problems all by yourself because there is no one who can help you." I don't want my child being told that. Children need to be able to (and be encouraged to) approach the trusted adults in their life for help.

35 people found this helpful

Just Amazing...

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2022

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I watched the movie before reading the book. It became one of my all time favorite films, and I can firmly say that the book is just as good, if not better than, the movie. Such a chilling story about overcoming your fears and learning what it means to be brave. Neil Gaiman's writing is some of the best i have ever seen in a novel, so descriptive and detailed yet riveting and engaging. I truley felt like i was in Coraline's shoes. I highly recommend it if your kids want to get into horror.

One person found this helpful

Dark, delightful, and delicious

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2022

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This is a propper modern grim fairytale for everyone. Coraline is one of the bravest children in literature. She is resilient and resourceful and far more clever than the world around her is prepared to deal with. I think Coraline and Matilda would be the best of friends. This story will disturb you at times and that is a very good thing. You will then be in tune with Coraline and the danger she finds herself in. Neil Gaiman reads his own words very well. I was transported. Well done all around.
(My review was originally posted on Audible)

Top reviews from other countries

Holly

dark and triggering, but an excellent read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2020

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My student (I am a tutor) is studying this book at school and asked me to help her with it. I had seen the movie, which is eerie and dark, but somehow this affected me more.

The plot is fairly simple, the writing is good and set firmly at a middle grade level and the book explores a variety of themes you normally see in a scary story, but often with a bit of a take-away children can use as teachings in their own life - especially the idea that being given everything you want often comes with a catch (think Hansel and Gretel) .

Now, I come from a slightly different POV than most children reading this book as I experienced an upbringing from a narcissistic mother. Due to this, the 'other mother' and life through the corridor did trigger some rather close to home feelings, even with it being told in an appropriate child-friendly way. Gaiman explores themes around control and abuse in this book, whilst on the surface it can also just be seen as a scary story. The fact that it evokes this response is a credit to his writing - he really captures the monster well.

The story explores themes around family and 'the grass is always greener,' whilst ultimately having the message that although everything has flaws , it is not always safe to just jump to a new situation to fix them.

This book is well written and my student loved it, finishing it in one sitting. She found it creepy and enjoyed exploring the idea of suspense in the story. She is 11 years old and I would say it was fine for 10 up, depending on the child. Some younger students may be fine with it, depending on their sensitivity.

21 people found this helpful

Jess Pagan

"You know I love you..."

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2017

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Coraline, a sprightly little girl, is very bored. Her parents have just moved into a new flat in the middle of nowhere where they work in the house. Those eternal summer days last forever and she has nothing to do: she has explored the grounds that surround the building - the abandoned meadow with the little covered well and the woods - and she has met the neighbours below and above her - the Miss Spink and Miss Forcible who used to act in theatre, and the strange man, Mr. Bobo, who is training his mice to do circus tricks - and there is nothing else to do. Even the lonesome black cat she sees skulking about seems bored. She is bored of her parents who have no time for her and she has done everything else there is to do.

There's only one thing she hasn't explored: the little door in the spare room where her grandmother's furniture is kept 'for best'. Her mother begrudgingly unlocks and opens the door to show a brick wall where it blocks off the empty flat next door. When her mother is out shopping Coraline unlocks the little door herself for another look. Instead of opening onto a brick wall, the door opens to reveal a long dark corridor. Curiosity gets the better of her and she crawls through it.

On the other side of the corridor she crawls out into the flat she just left, but it's different somehow. Her parents are there, but they are different. The Other Mother is taller, thinner, 'her teeth a little too long' and her hair flows around her head. And in the place of eyes are two shiny black buttons. She cooks Coraline the food she always loves, in her other bedroom is a toybox full of toys she loves and in her wardrobe all the kinds of clothes she loves. This world is more interesting and fun, and her parents want to spend time with her. The black cat hasn't changed much in the other world, but it can speak. It tells her to not trust this world and not trust the Other Mother. Everything is not as it seems.

And that is how the little girl spirals into this dark web crafted by the Other Mother to keep her here for herself. What does she really want? Why is she trying to get rid of the cat, 'that vermin', who is the only one telling her any truths?

This is a wonderfully wicked tale that will creep out the adults and fascinate the children. It is one of my favourite books, and if you loved the film you will love this even more as there are differences that strengthens the original story. Extra note: once you've read the book, if you want more then search for 'Coraline theories' on youtube for plenty more mysteries.

11 people found this helpful

browse shop review

CORaline!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2015

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As with many examples of classic children's literature over the years, 'Coraline' offers the younger reader a few measured doses of mystery, suspense, and fear - and particularly the latter, though in moderation, since children absolutely adore being a little bit frightened, as we must surely all remember!

The story, of course, centres around the summer holiday adventures of its titular heroine - young Coraline Jones - who, along with her mother and father, has moved into one of the flats in a ramshackle old house in the wilds of the country. Coraline's parents work from home but are busy people; and as I suspect is the case with many youngsters nowadays, they just don't seem to have enough time in the day to spare their daughter the attention she craves. Her mother automatically buys Coraline 'sensible' clothes - never the clothes her daughter actually wants to wear; and her father - a worryingly clueless sort of 'home husband' - is an experimental but terrible cook, and never serves anything to table that Coraline wants to eat.

The upstairs flat is occupied by the eccentrically acrobatic Mr Bobo - a moustachioed Eastern European with a penchant for training a troublesome musical mouse circus; the downstairs flat is shared by two ageing but rather highly strung former thespian spinsters - Miss Forcible and Miss Spink - together with their phlegmatic Highland Terriers: Hamish, Andrew, and Jock. But diverting though these neighbours may at first appear, is it any wonder that a bold and curious young girl like Coraline should want to go adventuring - exactly as a haughty black cat asserts his right to go wandering far and wide about the place, as though he owns it?

It's then that Coraline becomes captivated by the carved, brown wooden door in the drawing room - a locked door, which when released shows only a plain brick wall... Or does it...? In fact, the door leads to another world entirely - and to another house, which looks very much like her own. It also leads to another kindly father and another doting mother, neither of whom can seemingly do enough for lonely little Coraline - providing her with feasts of delicious food and the brightly coloured clothes she has always most desired; but just one thing:

Why do these alternative parents both have large and shiny-bright black buttons, sewn into place where their eyes must once have been...?

I won't go into much more detail about the plot because that would surely spoil the experience for those coming to the novel afresh. Suffice it to say that Coraline has quite a torrid time of it in trying to escape from her 'Other Mother' (otherwise known as the mysterious 'Beldam'), and that - with the help of one very formidable black cat, as previously mentioned - tries endlessly to return to her real mother and father, with whom she now desperately longs to be reunited.

'Coraline' is, of course, a typically imaginative piece of fiction from the distinguished and individual mind of Neil Gaiman. What really works in its favour, I think, is that Mr Gaiman thankfully refrains from those sensational excesses that too often find their way into his adult fictions for no better reason than their shock value, but which often end up being something more of a blight than a blessing. 'Coraline' can, in fact, be rightly celebrated for being a joyously restrained creation - a book about which no parent need concern themeselves too much when it comes to letting their children read it independently. I must also commend the illustrations by Chris Riddell, which grace the 10th Anniversary Edition that I bought - though perhaps the confined reading medium of my Kindle didn't quite do them justice!

A guaranteed page turner!

20 people found this helpful

Flora

An Engaging Tale For Both Young And Old!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2018

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I'm already a fan of Neil Gaiman and have read some of his other works of adult fiction. I downloaded this Kindle version because I adore the film version and felt it was high time I read the book.

As with all adaptations, the stop motion film varies slightly from the story in this book, however, I still found myself thoroughly engaged in Coraline Jones adventure through the door to the Other Place and even found my breath held in tension at times.

I downloaded the audio version narrated by Neil Gaiman himself and found that it also differed from the book; I think it was "Americanised" as there were little word changes (flashlight said instead of the torch that was printed, distance was narrated in imperial instead of the metric that was printed, etc) and slight sentence restructures. Having said that, I loved the way Mr Gaiman read his story, the pace of his speech and his tonal inflections; his performance helped to immerse me in the adventure.

Coraline is one of my favourite films, I watch it every Halloween and I am overjoyed to say that it's also one of my favourite books now too.

3 people found this helpful

11bkd

Freaky book I couldn’t put down

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2021

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My 13 year old kid recommended this book to me and I read it despite thinking it’s a kids book as I’ve made lots of recommendations to him over the years. I was not aware this was a Gaimen novel at first as I’ve read and enjoyed a fair few of his works so I thought it might be a nice read. Holy hell! This is a freaky book! It’s a ‘stay up till the early hours to finish it or you won’t sleep’ book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s now stuck in my brain, probably to haunt me forever. But I still wish I could read it again for the first time lol!

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