Over the next few months, we will be exploring Gaiman's book, Coraline. Coraline is a deceptively innocent tale about a little girl who wanders into a very bizarre alternate reality. But things aren't always what they seem, no matter how nice the packaging may be. One way to think of it would be Alice in Wonderland with a Gaiman twist!
Here is the summary from Goodreads:
Should you need it: PDF for book.The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring...
In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.
The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.
Only it's different.
At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, and little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.
Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.
How does it work, Emily? I'm glad you asked!
How it works:
For the next month or so, we will be tackling two (or three) chapters of the book per week. A forum post will be started at the beginning of each week for discussion and debate; please feel free to post as many times as you wish. At random points during the read-along, I will also be posting various activities (both creative and puzzles) for a little fun and a chance to earn beans.
Here is a breakdown of available points:
Participating in discussions:
10 beans for the initial post, and 5 beans for each additional post in that thread.
Random Activities:
20 beans each
Additionally, there are several new shiny awards up for grabs:
Other Mother AwardGiven to those who participate in at least 4 discussions
Button Master AwardGiven to those who participate in all of the discussions
Here is a basic timeline for the event:
April 14-April 20: Chapters 1&2 discussion
April 21-April 27: Chapters 3&4 discussion
April 28-May 4: Chapters 5&6 discussion
May 5-May 11: Chapters 7& 8 discussion
May 12-May 18:Chapters 9&10 discussion
May 19-May 25: Chapters 11&12 discussion
May 26-June 2: Chapter 13 & Summary discussion
June 8th: Everything due/event ends
There is no need to sign up or worry about missing a week; you can jump in any time you please!
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a forum PM
Happy reading!!
