Her mother begrudgingly unlocks and opens the door to show a brick wall where it blocks off the empty flat next door.
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'. She is bored of her parents who have no time for her and she has done everything else there is to do. Even the lonesome black cat she sees skulking about seems bored. Bobo, who is training his mice to do circus tricks - and there is nothing else to do. 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. Her parents have just moved into a new flat in the middle of nowhere where they work in the house. Some younger students may be fine with it, depending on their sensitivity.Ĭoraline, a sprightly little girl, is very bored. She is 11 years old and I would say it was fine for 10 up, depending on the child. She found it creepy and enjoyed exploring the idea of suspense in the story. This book is well written and my student loved it, finishing it in one sitting. 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. The fact that it evokes this response is a credit to his writing - he really captures the monster well.
Gaiman explores themes around control and abuse in this book, whilst on the surface it can also just be seen as a scary story. 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. Now, I come from a slightly different POV than most children reading this book as I experienced an upbringing from a narcissistic mother. 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).
I had seen the movie, which is eerie and dark, but somehow this affected me more. My student (I am a tutor) is studying this book at school and asked me to help her with it.
0 kommentar(er)
