Coraline :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Coraline

2009-01-05
This book is . . . refreshingly creepy but a GREAT read. I recomend this book to anyone ages 10 and up. :)

A twist on normal fantasy novels

2009-01-03
All of my friends said "Do not read this book. It's really scary." Naturally, when someone says that it makes you want to read the book even more, so I read it. It was a fairly easy read, and interesting as well. I didn't think it was scary at all though. I would definitely not call it horror, it was a fantasy book. The story line was entertaining and action packed. The characters were very well thought up and the descriptions of them precise. The end was wrapped up very nicely, and I think even a hint of comedy shone through. Absolutely a great book. Even if you do think it is scary, it is not gory. I reccomend it for anybody wanting a change from normal fantasy books.

amazing

2008-12-30
Me myself was never fond of creepy, scary books. Coraline is the first scary book that I really enjoyed.

P. Craig Russell Steals Gaiman's Magic...Again

2008-12-20
CORALINE is a wonderful book...one of the best children's/Young Adult books ever penned (although I know more adults who've had the heebie jeebies scared out of them by this fine novel). For reasons unknown, Neil Gaiman seems to allow artist P. Craig Russell to adapt Gaiman's prose work, turning them into "graphic novels." It's not a match made in heaven. Russell's illustrations add NOTHING to Gaiman's fine prose. If anything, Russell's illustrations tend to steal the thunder of unleashed & wild imagination that comes from reading a Gaiman story or novel. P. Craig Russell's artwork is pedestrian (at best)and, truth be told, "mundane" would be a more accurate word to describe it. His illustrations are so mediocre that they actually detract from Gaimans' fine storytelling abilities. I do not know why they continue this collaboration...perhaps they're trying to hit the audience with Attention Deficiency Disorder, those who might not otherwise read a book unless EVERY last detail is reproduced in colorful illustration. Much of CORALINE'S magic works in the same way that old radio programs worked (in the pre-television days) or the way songs worked so well (in the pre-MTV days)..Gaiman's prose allows the reader to open up the mind's cathedrals to conjure up our own nightmarish & magical worlds. Russell's intrusion on this sacred bond between writer & reader breaks an otherwise near-sacred relationship. A movie version of this book? Yes. I can see how this will allow the story to flourish in a new way and direction (although I imagine some of the more gripping psychological aspects of CORALINE might be lost when released in cinema houses...of course, this remains to be seen). As with P. Craig Russell's other adaptations of Neil Gaiman's prose works, his illustrations only cheapen what are otherwise masterfully told stories. Please DO NOT think that I am knocking P. Craig Russell's known abilities/skill as an artist: his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on an ORIGINAL/JOINT effort, such as their joint work on SANDMAN'S "Ramadan" remains one of the finest comic books in existence. However, Russell's adaptations of Gaiman's prose work are worlds removed from their beautiful, landmark issue of SANDMAN...and, instead, makes the CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED comics of old seem like masterpieces by comparison. I'd love nothing more than to see Gaiman/Russell collaborate on a comic-book such as "Ramadan" (or the later SANDMAN-related story "Death in Venice"). However, Russell & Gaiman should do their reputations...as well as their readers...a favor and stop creating graphic novels out of Gaiman's fine prose. It insults Gaiman's legacy, as well insulting the intelligence of Gaiman's readers.

Downloading from Audible

2008-12-17
Coraline is great and I would recommend buying the audio version, but stay away from Audible, Amazon.com's "trusted partner" in audio books. It requires the installation of software to even download the audio file and if you want to play it on your PC, don't even think about using your favorite media player. Compare this to songs bought and downloaded off Amazon.com itself which are DRM free and in MP3 format. (Note: Good job with that Amazon). Even iTunes, which I normally shun, may have been better.
An advantage theoretically would be that it can be transferred to any MP3 player, but guess what, doesn't work on my Creative MP3 player despite advertising that it does. What a surprise.
Bottom line: Good sound quality, the actual product is perfect, but the delivery is distasteful if you like having an MP3 format and nobody constantly looking over your shoulder, buy the CD. I would give Coraline 5/5, Audible 1/5. Regretting the purchase from Audible, I must admit.

Coraline on AUDIO BOOK (CD)

2008-12-10

In Coraline's family's new flat there's a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall&#8212until Coraline unlocks the door . . . and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only different.

The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there's another mother and father there who want Coraline to be their little girl. They want to change her and keep her with them. . . . Forever.

Coraline is an extraordinary fairy tale/nightmare from the uniquely skewed imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman.

What's the deal with the key?

2008-12-03
1. This is not the novel. This is a comic book adaptation of the novel. That said, it's very well done, but you need to know what you're getting.

2. I have some issues with it. It's mentioned several pages in, that it's a very cold summer and that Coraline has to bundle up, but she's drawn wearing T-shirts and short shorts and flip flops.

3. Second issue. Coraline also takes "the key" with her to the other side, but the Other Mother sends a rat to get "the key" from Coraline's apartment. Then the Other Mother locks the door. It's mentioned that there is only one key. That confused me. Plus, Coraline eventually uses her own key to escape. I'm not sure if this discrepancy is in the original novel or just in this comic book version.

UNFORTUNATELY ORDERED THE WRONG VERSION OF CORALINE )<:

2008-11-21
My daughter and I had a long car trip this summer in which we listened to a library audio copy of Coraline (charmingly illustrated by Neil Gaiman himself) and absolutely LOVED the story. So, for Christmas, I had decided to give her a beautiful hardbound copy of the book to read together.

UNFORTUNATELY: this graphic hardbound novel is like a comic strip version of the novel. DO NOT BUY THIS UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE BOOK PROPERLY. It would be more suitable as a keepsake or extra copy, but the regular text novel is too good to miss. The description here on Amazon was confusing enough to make ME think that this would just be an extra snazzy version of the novel with SOME illustrations thrown in. NO. It's ALL comic strips all the time.

Sorry, but I'm a little miffed at Amazon, NOT the book. A little more information would be nice on these kind of top sellers (at the very least, we could expect that kind of service). As a very loyal amazon user, I am highly displeased at times with the lack of description on some items, and this is the worst thus far.

Comic Strip Book???

2008-11-11
The story was very interesting but I was shocked to find out this was a comic strip book. I think I would of enjoyed this book more after I read the novel. I felt this book lacked the details in the story. After reading the normal novel, then get this book - you'd enjoy it more.

Coraline novel on CD

2008-11-10
The CD was an excellent addition to my classroom library. I was reading the novel with a group of my struggling readers, so to have the audio (read by the author with his English accent!) was a great bonus. It really helped my students get inside the book and the characters. The enjoyed hearing the voices of the rats, the mice and other interesting characters in the novel.