Bibliographical information:

Gaiman, Neil. Coraline.  2002. New York: Harper Trophy, 2003.

Brief summary:

After Coraline's family moves into a new home, she discovers that there's a sealed-off part of the house. Bored on her side and finding her parents insufficiently attentive, she crosses into the other side of the house, where she finds another mother who dotes on her and feeds her delicious food, but is oddly creepy, especially her black button eyes.  On this other side of the house, Coraline has rats in her room, and the neighbors who live in the other flats are all strangely different. When she returns to her own home, Coraline discovers that her parents have been taken prisoner, and to regain her own life she must free them (along with some other children).

Comments:

This is a very creepy book. It speaks to the sense that kids sometimes have (sometimes justifiably) of not having enough attention paid to them, but suggests that attention and love are not the same.

Grade/Age level:

Ages 10-13

Cautions:

As I noted above, this book is quite creepy.

If you like this book, you might also like . . .

Books by Roald Dahl. Mieville, Un Lun Dun

--Lisa Gordis

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