Sharon reviews Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Harper Collins, 2002 162 pages
Coraline has just moved into a new apartment with her father and mother. Her parents are always busy with work and never have time to spend with Coraline. Coraline spends lots of time exploring her new home and yard. There is a door in the drawing room that is locked with a key. When you open the door, all that’s there is a brick wall, filled in by a past owner. One night, though, Coraline opens the door and instead of a brick wall, there is an apartment almost exactly like hers.
In this apartment there are people who look just like her parents, except they have black buttons where their eyes should be. These “other parents” have time to spend with her, play games with her and always cook her favorite foods. It’s not home, but in some ways it’s better because someone here pays attention to her. The other mother says Coraline can stay for always. It’s then that Coraline notices the spool of thread, needle and 2 black shiny buttons.