Synopses & Reviews
In Olive's third adventure, what lurks below the house could be as dangerous as what's hidden inside . . .
Some terrifying things have happened to Olive in the old stone house, but none as scary as starting junior high. Or so she thinks. When she plummets through a hole in her backyard, though, she realizes two things that may change her mind: First, the wicked Annabelle McMartin is back. Second, there's a secret underground that unlocks not one but two of Elsewhere's biggest, most powerful, most dangerous forces yet. But with the house's guardian cats acting suspicious, her best friend threatening to move away, and her ally Morton starting to rebel, Olive isn't sure where to turn. Will she figure it out in time? Or will she be lured into Elsewhere, and trapped there for good?
Review
“Beautifully spooky. Gaiman actually seems to understand the way children think. ” Christian Science Monitor
Review
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, rise to your feet and applaud: Coraline is the real thing.” Philip Pullman, The Guardian
Review
“A magnificently creepy story…Coraline is spot on.” Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Review
“An electrifyingly creepy tale likely to haunt young readers for many moons.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
“A deliciously scary book that we loved reading together as a family.” Orson Scott Card
Review
“So wonderfully whimsical that readers of all ages will hungrily devour itCoraline is destined to become a classic. Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Review
“The most splendidly original, weird, and frightening book I have read, and yet full of things children will love.” Diana Wynne Jones
Review
“A truly creepy tale. Beware those button eyes!” Family Fun Magazine
Review
“Gaimans tale is inventive, scary, thrilling and finally affirmative. Readers young and old will find something to startle them.” Washington Post Book World
Review
“ Walk through the door and youll believe in love, magic, and the power of good over evil.” USA Today
Review
“Chilly, finely-wrought prose, a truly weird setting and a fable that taps into our most uncomfortable fears.” Times Educational Supplement
Review
“It has the delicate horror of the finest fairy tales, and it is a masterpiece.” Terry Pratchett
Review
“Coraline is by turns creepy and funny, bittersweet and playful…can be read quickly and enjoyed deeply.” San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
Review
“Gaimans pacing is superb, and he steers the tension of the tale with a deft and practiced narrative touch.” Bulletin of the Center for Children & #8217;s Books
Review
“A modern ghost story with all the creepy trimmings…Well done.” New York Times Book Review
Review
“A fantastic story full of magic and mysteries.”—
San Francisco Chronicle on
The Shadows
“This is a great . . . read that will let your imagination run wild.”—TIME for Kids on The Shadows
Synopsis
When Coraline explores her new home, she steps through a door and into another house just like her own . . . except that it's different. It's a marvelous adventure until Coraline discovers that there's also another mother and another father in the house. They want Coraline to stay with them and be
their little girl. They want to keep her forever!
Coraline must use all of her wits and every ounce of courage in order to save herself and return home.
About the Author
A two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, Jacqueline West (www.jacquelinewest.com) came to writing by way of opera (she studied vocal performance) and acting (she worked as an actress at a dinner theatre while earning her degree). Looking back on it, it's hard for Jacqueline to believe she ever wanted to be an opera singer, but singing, acting, and writing have one thing in common, she says: "They're all about telling a story, about getting inside the mind of someone other than yourself." The Books of Elsewhere were inspired by a strange old house in Jacqueline's home town--three floors, cracking paint, sagging porches--that was owned by a professor who created all sorts of odd contraptions. Like lots of kids who live mostly in their imaginations, Jacqueline was obsessed with all things mysterious, creepy, and darkly funny, and with stories where magic intersects with everyday life. She was enthralled by Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, John Bellairs, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Calvin and Hobbes, Bunnicula, etc. Jacqueline lives with her husband and their dog, Brom Bones (of Sleepy Hollow fame).