Author/Illustrator: Mordecai Gerstein
Year: 2002
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)
Awards: ALA Notable Book 2003, Horn Book Fanfare 2002
Genre: Picture Book/Historical Fiction
Location: Small Town America
Time Period: 1874-1954
Plot: Describes the life of American composer Charles Ives (1874-1954), who wrote music which expressed all the sounds he heard in the world, but which was not well received during his lifetime. SPOILER! At the end of the book, Charlie's music is accepted, and he contemplates writing his greatest work, the Universe Symphony.
Comments: The magic of picture books is that sometimes there is a story that can be told better in pictures than it can through words. Gerstein does a good job of using words to explain how everything Charlie heard could be considered music—from the swish of his mother's skirts to the creaking of a door. Then he shows how Charlie hears the world by filling the pictures full of sounds. By the end of the book, it's hard to see the pictures for the number of sounds that are written across the pages. The pictures are warm and bright, and the text is engaging. Because there is so much going on in the text and in the pictures, this would be a good story for older children who are learning to read on their own rather than for younger children.
This story made me want to learn more about Charles Ives. I even checked out a CD of his music the next time I went to the library because of the book. (Gerstein even recommends a CD at the end of the book.) Combining this book with a sample of a CD would help children find more meaning in the music. Parents and teachers can say, "Remember that part where Charlie's dad directed two bands at once? Can you hear them in this song?" or "What do you think Charlie was thinking of when he wrote this piece?"
Themes: Music, Modernism, Persistence, Doing what you love
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuff Fluff: The Case of Duckie's Missing Brain
Author/Illustrator: Scott Nash
Year: 2004
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)
Genre: Picture Book/Mystery
Location: Los Attic
Time Period: Present (2004), a.k.a. 3:29, by the stopped watch on the wall
Plot: When Bluebell the stuffed bear comes to Tuff Fluff, Private Investigator, for help, Tuff Fluff is immediately on the case. Bluebell's friend Duckie was reading Bluebell a story when he suddenly lost the ability to speak. Now all Duckie can do is quack. Upon further investigation, Tuff finds out that Duckie's seam has come unsewn, and the fluff that made up his brain has been stolen. Is this the work of the residents of Beantown, an area of toys in Los Attic who think they are better than everyone else because they are stuffed with beans instead of stuffing? SPOILER! When Tuff Fluff, Bluebell, and Duckie confront the inhabitants of Beantown about the crime, they find that the residents of Beantown enjoy Duckie's stories too. Everyone in Los Attic bands together to find Duckie a new brain. Eventually, Bluebell donates some spare fluff to make a new brain for Duckie, and the Beantown residents contribute a bean as well. Duckie is recovered, and everyone joins together to hear him tell stories once again.
Comments: This is a fun appealing adventure story with an exciting tone. The story is told from Tuff Fluff's perspective, and children will enjoy trying to guess what will happen next. Besides the narration, the pictures are also engaging. They are simultaneously dark enough to match the mood, but bright enough to keep the story light-hearted. Fun details are added to each picture: a ceiling fan made out of a pencil eraser and paperclips, and houses made out of cardboard boxes.
As fun as this book is, it can also be off-putting as well. This is listed as a book for children ages 4-8, but it's also a chapter book disguised as a picture book. Each chapter is about two to three pages long, and is accompanied by many full page illustrations. Because of this, the book is really for older children in the age range. See the Red Flags section as well.
Themes: Cooperation, Stories, Mysteries, Toy Animals, Accepting others' differences.
Red Flags: SPOILERS! Duckie's brain is eventually found: it's a ball of fluff, marking the place in the book Duckie was reading to Bluebell. The stuffing just simply fell out. Before they can put the stuffing back in, however, a wind comes through the room and blows Duckie's stuffing brain into Bluebell's mouth, who promptly swallows it. This isn't too disgusting when one focuses on the fact that it is simply stuffing being swallowed by a stuffed bear, but the implications are kind of gross. Children would probably not be bothered by this fact, however.
Year: 2004
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)
Genre: Picture Book/Mystery
Location: Los Attic
Time Period: Present (2004), a.k.a. 3:29, by the stopped watch on the wall
Plot: When Bluebell the stuffed bear comes to Tuff Fluff, Private Investigator, for help, Tuff Fluff is immediately on the case. Bluebell's friend Duckie was reading Bluebell a story when he suddenly lost the ability to speak. Now all Duckie can do is quack. Upon further investigation, Tuff finds out that Duckie's seam has come unsewn, and the fluff that made up his brain has been stolen. Is this the work of the residents of Beantown, an area of toys in Los Attic who think they are better than everyone else because they are stuffed with beans instead of stuffing? SPOILER! When Tuff Fluff, Bluebell, and Duckie confront the inhabitants of Beantown about the crime, they find that the residents of Beantown enjoy Duckie's stories too. Everyone in Los Attic bands together to find Duckie a new brain. Eventually, Bluebell donates some spare fluff to make a new brain for Duckie, and the Beantown residents contribute a bean as well. Duckie is recovered, and everyone joins together to hear him tell stories once again.
Comments: This is a fun appealing adventure story with an exciting tone. The story is told from Tuff Fluff's perspective, and children will enjoy trying to guess what will happen next. Besides the narration, the pictures are also engaging. They are simultaneously dark enough to match the mood, but bright enough to keep the story light-hearted. Fun details are added to each picture: a ceiling fan made out of a pencil eraser and paperclips, and houses made out of cardboard boxes.
As fun as this book is, it can also be off-putting as well. This is listed as a book for children ages 4-8, but it's also a chapter book disguised as a picture book. Each chapter is about two to three pages long, and is accompanied by many full page illustrations. Because of this, the book is really for older children in the age range. See the Red Flags section as well.
Themes: Cooperation, Stories, Mysteries, Toy Animals, Accepting others' differences.
Red Flags: SPOILERS! Duckie's brain is eventually found: it's a ball of fluff, marking the place in the book Duckie was reading to Bluebell. The stuffing just simply fell out. Before they can put the stuffing back in, however, a wind comes through the room and blows Duckie's stuffing brain into Bluebell's mouth, who promptly swallows it. This isn't too disgusting when one focuses on the fact that it is simply stuffing being swallowed by a stuffed bear, but the implications are kind of gross. Children would probably not be bothered by this fact, however.
Monday, May 18, 2009
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Author: Ally Carter
Year: 2006
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 284
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Action/Adventure
Series Information: First of the Gallagher Girls novels
Location: The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women in Roseville, VA
Time Period: Present (2006)
Plot: Cammie Morgan is a second generation Gallagher Girl. She attends a top secret school for spies in Rosemont, Virginia. The residents of Rosemont think Gallagher is en elite private school for socialites, and they look down on anyone who goes there. When Cammie meets a cute town member named Josh while on a secret assignment, she can't tell him who she is. Josh likes Cammie because she not like any of the other girls at the local high school, and Cammie likes Josh because she gets to play the part of a normal girl instead of a genius spy in training. Things quickly get out of hand, however, and Cammie must decide where her loyalties truly lie: with her new boyfriend, or with her fellow classmates. SPOILER! Cammie eventually decides that she is tired of living a lie with Josh. She knows he won't like her if she tells him who she really is, so she decides to break up with him. She sneaks out of the school to talk to him, and is "kidnapped" in front of Josh by her covert operations teacher as part of the sophomore class final. Josh immediately tries to save Cammie, and learns the truth. The book ends with Cammie knowing that she truly belongs at the Gallagher Academy, but whether she and Josh can get back together remains uncertain. It is implied that Josh has been slipped a memory modification drug that will cause him not to remember the truth about Cammie.
Comments: This was a fun read. More adventure story than romance, teens will like the idea of a teenage spy who takes classes about how to blow things up instead of the usual subjects like art and history. The book has a good message as well: be true to yourself and your friends.
A book like this could be either very engrossing, or very badly written. The writing style was a little campy, but also fun and frivolous. Cammie, Josh, and Cammie's friends were all believable characters, even though they were put in unexpected and unfamiliar surroundings. An easy, light-hearted book that makes for great pleasure reading.
I did a little research on this book, and found that it's been optioned as a movie, so it may come out soon. The possible directors also directed The Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I believe are good read-alikes for this series.
Themes: Spies, First Love, Families, Friends, School, Being True to Yourself
Red Flags: None
Year: 2006
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 284
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Action/Adventure
Series Information: First of the Gallagher Girls novels
Location: The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women in Roseville, VA
Time Period: Present (2006)
Plot: Cammie Morgan is a second generation Gallagher Girl. She attends a top secret school for spies in Rosemont, Virginia. The residents of Rosemont think Gallagher is en elite private school for socialites, and they look down on anyone who goes there. When Cammie meets a cute town member named Josh while on a secret assignment, she can't tell him who she is. Josh likes Cammie because she not like any of the other girls at the local high school, and Cammie likes Josh because she gets to play the part of a normal girl instead of a genius spy in training. Things quickly get out of hand, however, and Cammie must decide where her loyalties truly lie: with her new boyfriend, or with her fellow classmates. SPOILER! Cammie eventually decides that she is tired of living a lie with Josh. She knows he won't like her if she tells him who she really is, so she decides to break up with him. She sneaks out of the school to talk to him, and is "kidnapped" in front of Josh by her covert operations teacher as part of the sophomore class final. Josh immediately tries to save Cammie, and learns the truth. The book ends with Cammie knowing that she truly belongs at the Gallagher Academy, but whether she and Josh can get back together remains uncertain. It is implied that Josh has been slipped a memory modification drug that will cause him not to remember the truth about Cammie.
Comments: This was a fun read. More adventure story than romance, teens will like the idea of a teenage spy who takes classes about how to blow things up instead of the usual subjects like art and history. The book has a good message as well: be true to yourself and your friends.
A book like this could be either very engrossing, or very badly written. The writing style was a little campy, but also fun and frivolous. Cammie, Josh, and Cammie's friends were all believable characters, even though they were put in unexpected and unfamiliar surroundings. An easy, light-hearted book that makes for great pleasure reading.
I did a little research on this book, and found that it's been optioned as a movie, so it may come out soon. The possible directors also directed The Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I believe are good read-alikes for this series.
Themes: Spies, First Love, Families, Friends, School, Being True to Yourself
Red Flags: None
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Duck at the Door
Author/Illustrator: Jackie Urbanovic
Year: 2007
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)
Genre: Picture Book/Animals
Series Information: First book in the Max the Duck series.
Location: A farm in the country (U.S.A.)
Time Period: Present Day (2007)
Plot: When Max the Duck decides he wants to see what winter is like, he is taken by surprise—it's so cold! He knocks on the door of Irene and her birds, cats, dogs, rabbit, and ferret, and is welcomed with open arms. Soon Max makes himself right at home—hogging the TV, experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, and playing with his rubber duckies in the bathtub. SPOILER! When Spring comes, Max leaves to join his flock. Suddenly life without Max seems boring. When Winter comes again Max comes back, and he brings his flock with him!
Comments: This book is a great example of how pictures can tell a lot of the story if you let them. You wouldn't really think that the animals are annoyed with Max's antics if you didn't see the annoyance on the animals' faces. Each watercolor picture is simply done, but it speaks volumes. Words placed by each animal on the page also help convey what each animal is thinking. There is plenty of white space on the page, which makes this a great book for younger children. However, because a lot of the story is told in the pictures instead of the words, I wouldn't recommend this for a very big crowd.
The animals themselves steal the show, and Max is hilarious. No wonder this book and the others in the series are on the New York Times Bestseller list!
Themes: Ducks, Animals, Migration, Winter, Spring, Pros and Cons of Friendship
Year: 2007
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)
Genre: Picture Book/Animals
Series Information: First book in the Max the Duck series.
Location: A farm in the country (U.S.A.)
Time Period: Present Day (2007)
Plot: When Max the Duck decides he wants to see what winter is like, he is taken by surprise—it's so cold! He knocks on the door of Irene and her birds, cats, dogs, rabbit, and ferret, and is welcomed with open arms. Soon Max makes himself right at home—hogging the TV, experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, and playing with his rubber duckies in the bathtub. SPOILER! When Spring comes, Max leaves to join his flock. Suddenly life without Max seems boring. When Winter comes again Max comes back, and he brings his flock with him!
Comments: This book is a great example of how pictures can tell a lot of the story if you let them. You wouldn't really think that the animals are annoyed with Max's antics if you didn't see the annoyance on the animals' faces. Each watercolor picture is simply done, but it speaks volumes. Words placed by each animal on the page also help convey what each animal is thinking. There is plenty of white space on the page, which makes this a great book for younger children. However, because a lot of the story is told in the pictures instead of the words, I wouldn't recommend this for a very big crowd.
The animals themselves steal the show, and Max is hilarious. No wonder this book and the others in the series are on the New York Times Bestseller list!
Themes: Ducks, Animals, Migration, Winter, Spring, Pros and Cons of Friendship
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Year: 2006
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 550
Reading Level: Young Adult
Awards: 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Award, 2007 Michael L. Printz Honor, 2007 Ten Best Books for Young Adults, and many others
Genre: Historical Fiction/World War II
Location: Molching, Germany (just outside of Munich)
Time Period: 1930's and 40's (World War II)
Plot: On the way to stay with foster parents in Molching, Germany, Liesel Meminger's brother dies. Traumatized by the event, Liesel has a recurring nightmare about the incident. Liesel eventually learns to deal with her grief in a number of ways: She learns to read with the help of her step-father, Hans, and a select number of books she steals throughout the story. She becomes best friends with her next door neighbor, Rudy Steiner. She visits the mayor's wife, and learns of her story. When air raids come, she reads to her neighbors as they wait together in a bomb shelter. She makes fast friends with Max, a Jew her parents are hiding from the Nazis in their basement. Leisel then writes of all of these experiences in a journal, which Death later finds, reads, and relates to the reader. SPOILER! Leisel is up late one night, writing in her journal, when the street she lives on is hit in an air raid. Everyone who lives on the street dies except for Liesel, who is eventually reunited with Rudy's father and Max.
Comments: This book may look daunting, but the author writes in a very clipped, short style that makes the book easy to get through. I never consciously sat down to read this book. I read it in stolen moments, and got through a lot of it that way.
The idea of having Death as the narrator is an interesting one. Despite all of the red flags written below, this book didn't seem too gruesome to me. It is a war story, so that must be kept in mind, but Death tries to find a kind of poetry in the world around him that makes the concept easier to deal with. However, Death is also extremely snarky, and his dark sense of humor sometimes got a little old. Take the last line of the book: "I am haunted by humans."
The best part of this book was the characters. They all seemed very fleshed out and very real to me. Liesel's step-father is so loving and kind you want to give him a great big hug. Liesel's step-mother is the typical hard-shell-on-the-outside, warm-and-caring-on-the-inside person. And Liesel's best friend, Rudy Steiner, steals the show. I kept rooting for him to succeed, even though he kept getting beaten down. Even minor characters such as the lady down the street and the mayor's wife have endearing qualities. Liesel was a real person to me, but having Death as the narrator made her not as fleshed out as she could be. I wanted to hear the story in her voice.
Although I liked the tone of the book, as set by Death's strange little asides and jokes, I also found the writing style somewhat annoying. Death is not a good storyteller. He gives away major plot points 50 or 100 pages before you even want to know them, and when you do get to the critical part, it doesn't seem as momentous because he'd already told the main points of the story eons ago, and he doesn't repeat them.
Overall, I liked the book. I liked the message, I loved the characters, and for the most part, I liked the writing style. I just wish the narrator had built up the climax a little more.
Themes: World War II, Nazi Party, Jews, Stealing, Friendship, Love, Books, Standing up for what you believe in, Death
Red Flags: Profuse swearing (mostly in German, so you can't understand it); Description of some of the lighter effects of war--a man comes back from war with a bloody stump for a hand, bombings, air raids, plane crash, Death talks about all of the casualties of war he has to pick up, etc.; Emaciated Jews are forced to march through the city streets; Death describes his job; Stealing books, food, etc.; Bullies.
Multicultural Elements: Max is a German Jew.
Year: 2006
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 550
Reading Level: Young Adult
Awards: 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Award, 2007 Michael L. Printz Honor, 2007 Ten Best Books for Young Adults, and many others
Genre: Historical Fiction/World War II
Location: Molching, Germany (just outside of Munich)
Time Period: 1930's and 40's (World War II)
Plot: On the way to stay with foster parents in Molching, Germany, Liesel Meminger's brother dies. Traumatized by the event, Liesel has a recurring nightmare about the incident. Liesel eventually learns to deal with her grief in a number of ways: She learns to read with the help of her step-father, Hans, and a select number of books she steals throughout the story. She becomes best friends with her next door neighbor, Rudy Steiner. She visits the mayor's wife, and learns of her story. When air raids come, she reads to her neighbors as they wait together in a bomb shelter. She makes fast friends with Max, a Jew her parents are hiding from the Nazis in their basement. Leisel then writes of all of these experiences in a journal, which Death later finds, reads, and relates to the reader. SPOILER! Leisel is up late one night, writing in her journal, when the street she lives on is hit in an air raid. Everyone who lives on the street dies except for Liesel, who is eventually reunited with Rudy's father and Max.
Comments: This book may look daunting, but the author writes in a very clipped, short style that makes the book easy to get through. I never consciously sat down to read this book. I read it in stolen moments, and got through a lot of it that way.
The idea of having Death as the narrator is an interesting one. Despite all of the red flags written below, this book didn't seem too gruesome to me. It is a war story, so that must be kept in mind, but Death tries to find a kind of poetry in the world around him that makes the concept easier to deal with. However, Death is also extremely snarky, and his dark sense of humor sometimes got a little old. Take the last line of the book: "I am haunted by humans."
The best part of this book was the characters. They all seemed very fleshed out and very real to me. Liesel's step-father is so loving and kind you want to give him a great big hug. Liesel's step-mother is the typical hard-shell-on-the-outside, warm-and-caring-on-the-inside person. And Liesel's best friend, Rudy Steiner, steals the show. I kept rooting for him to succeed, even though he kept getting beaten down. Even minor characters such as the lady down the street and the mayor's wife have endearing qualities. Liesel was a real person to me, but having Death as the narrator made her not as fleshed out as she could be. I wanted to hear the story in her voice.
Although I liked the tone of the book, as set by Death's strange little asides and jokes, I also found the writing style somewhat annoying. Death is not a good storyteller. He gives away major plot points 50 or 100 pages before you even want to know them, and when you do get to the critical part, it doesn't seem as momentous because he'd already told the main points of the story eons ago, and he doesn't repeat them.
Overall, I liked the book. I liked the message, I loved the characters, and for the most part, I liked the writing style. I just wish the narrator had built up the climax a little more.
Themes: World War II, Nazi Party, Jews, Stealing, Friendship, Love, Books, Standing up for what you believe in, Death
Red Flags: Profuse swearing (mostly in German, so you can't understand it); Description of some of the lighter effects of war--a man comes back from war with a bloody stump for a hand, bombings, air raids, plane crash, Death talks about all of the casualties of war he has to pick up, etc.; Emaciated Jews are forced to march through the city streets; Death describes his job; Stealing books, food, etc.; Bullies.
Multicultural Elements: Max is a German Jew.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author/Illustrator: J.K. Rowling
Year: 2008
Publisher: Children's High Level Group
Pages: 111
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Location: England
Time Period: Long Ago with Present Day (2008) Commentary
Plot: A collection of five popular "wizard" fairy tales, including The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers (which was also told in the last book of the Harry Potter series). Each story is accompanied with commentary written by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Comments: J.K. Rowling has a gift of being able to craft a story that combines the myth and morals of a fairy tale with humor. That's why I enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and that's why I enjoyed this book. I could imagine being told these stories as a young child, just as I was told fairy tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, and others. Like most fairy tales, each story ends with a moral. Even though the characters in these stories are magic, they still have to rely on their head and on their heart to solve their problems. The commentary by Albus Dumbledore points out these morals and expounds on them, and adds an extra bit of humor. For example, his note about the retold tales of Mrs. Beatrix Bloxom was especially funny. I also liked Rowling's pictures—I was impressed that she wrote the story and did the illustrations.
Themes: Fairy Tales, Charity, Service, Being Happy with what you have, Making your own Future, Importance of Love, Trickster Tale, Mortality
Red Flags: The Warlock's Hairy Heart is rather gruesome—SPOILER! It ends with the warlock cutting out a maiden's heart, and trying to switch it with his own.
Year: 2008
Publisher: Children's High Level Group
Pages: 111
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Location: England
Time Period: Long Ago with Present Day (2008) Commentary
Plot: A collection of five popular "wizard" fairy tales, including The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers (which was also told in the last book of the Harry Potter series). Each story is accompanied with commentary written by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Comments: J.K. Rowling has a gift of being able to craft a story that combines the myth and morals of a fairy tale with humor. That's why I enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and that's why I enjoyed this book. I could imagine being told these stories as a young child, just as I was told fairy tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, and others. Like most fairy tales, each story ends with a moral. Even though the characters in these stories are magic, they still have to rely on their head and on their heart to solve their problems. The commentary by Albus Dumbledore points out these morals and expounds on them, and adds an extra bit of humor. For example, his note about the retold tales of Mrs. Beatrix Bloxom was especially funny. I also liked Rowling's pictures—I was impressed that she wrote the story and did the illustrations.
Themes: Fairy Tales, Charity, Service, Being Happy with what you have, Making your own Future, Importance of Love, Trickster Tale, Mortality
Red Flags: The Warlock's Hairy Heart is rather gruesome—SPOILER! It ends with the warlock cutting out a maiden's heart, and trying to switch it with his own.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Year: 2002
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 162
Reading Level: Young Adult
Awards: 2003 ALA Notable Children's Book, 2003 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Movie Adaptation: Coraline
Genre: Suspense/Adventure/Horror
Location: A large house which has been renovated into apartments
Time Period: Present Day (2002)
Plot: When Coraline goes exploring in her new home, she finds a door that leads to nothing—the room behind it has been bricked up. However, weird things are happening, and Coraline is hearing strange noises coming from that door. When Coraline investigates, she finds that the door is suddenly not bricked up any more. Instead, what's behind it is an exact replica of her own house, only better and more exciting. An exact replica of Coraline's mother and father are there too, and they're happy to see her. There's just one problem. Coraline's Other Mother and Other Father and all of the other living beings in that world have black buttons for eyes. Coraline thinks this other world is wonderful, but in order to stay, she must replace her eyes with buttons too. SPOILER! When Coraline refuses the Other Mother's offer, the Other Mother takes revenge. She kidnaps Coraline's real parents, and is keeping them and the souls of other children she has captured in hidden places throughout the Other house. It is up to Coraline to find the souls of the other children and her parents before the Other Mother successfully steals Coraline's soul as well. With every soul Coraline finds, the Other Mother gets more and more vengeful. And when Coraline succeeds, she still must get through the bricked up door before she gets trapped in the Other World forever.
Comments: I have never read Alice in Wonderland, but this seems like a more menacing version of the Alice series. With that said, this may seem like an extremely terrifying book, but the scariness factor was mostly okay for me, and I don't do very well with scary. It obviously helped me that this is a horror book written for children, but I think older children should be fine with it as well. Coraline is definitely a braver, pluckier heroine than I would ever be, but that's the point. You have to be that strong when you are facing evil forces.
If this book was all about the scariness of the situation (see below for examples), I definitely would not have liked it. However, there were a few good morals/important points that helped me like the book and helped me see a point for the strangeness of it all:
Red Flags: Battling a Witch, Humans turning into Blobs, Disappearing Parents, A Man who always has Rats up his Sleeves/Under his Hat, Sinister Plots, People with Buttons for Eyes, An Animate Yet Disembodied Hand Chasing Coraline. (For the Movie: A Claymation/Digital Lady who is Mostly Naked)
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Year: 2002
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 162
Reading Level: Young Adult
Awards: 2003 ALA Notable Children's Book, 2003 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Movie Adaptation: Coraline
Genre: Suspense/Adventure/Horror
Location: A large house which has been renovated into apartments
Time Period: Present Day (2002)
Plot: When Coraline goes exploring in her new home, she finds a door that leads to nothing—the room behind it has been bricked up. However, weird things are happening, and Coraline is hearing strange noises coming from that door. When Coraline investigates, she finds that the door is suddenly not bricked up any more. Instead, what's behind it is an exact replica of her own house, only better and more exciting. An exact replica of Coraline's mother and father are there too, and they're happy to see her. There's just one problem. Coraline's Other Mother and Other Father and all of the other living beings in that world have black buttons for eyes. Coraline thinks this other world is wonderful, but in order to stay, she must replace her eyes with buttons too. SPOILER! When Coraline refuses the Other Mother's offer, the Other Mother takes revenge. She kidnaps Coraline's real parents, and is keeping them and the souls of other children she has captured in hidden places throughout the Other house. It is up to Coraline to find the souls of the other children and her parents before the Other Mother successfully steals Coraline's soul as well. With every soul Coraline finds, the Other Mother gets more and more vengeful. And when Coraline succeeds, she still must get through the bricked up door before she gets trapped in the Other World forever.
Comments: I have never read Alice in Wonderland, but this seems like a more menacing version of the Alice series. With that said, this may seem like an extremely terrifying book, but the scariness factor was mostly okay for me, and I don't do very well with scary. It obviously helped me that this is a horror book written for children, but I think older children should be fine with it as well. Coraline is definitely a braver, pluckier heroine than I would ever be, but that's the point. You have to be that strong when you are facing evil forces.
If this book was all about the scariness of the situation (see below for examples), I definitely would not have liked it. However, there were a few good morals/important points that helped me like the book and helped me see a point for the strangeness of it all:
- Coraline realizes that the witch and the scary things around her don't really have any power. In the words of the book, the Other Mother "could only twist and copy and distort things that already existed" (p. 118).
- Coraline realizes that giving in to the Other Mother will not make her happy: "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" (p. 120). Ah Coraline, you are so wise.
Red Flags: Battling a Witch, Humans turning into Blobs, Disappearing Parents, A Man who always has Rats up his Sleeves/Under his Hat, Sinister Plots, People with Buttons for Eyes, An Animate Yet Disembodied Hand Chasing Coraline. (For the Movie: A Claymation/Digital Lady who is Mostly Naked)
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