5 Coraline designs even Neil Gaiman wants on your nails!

If you haven't read Coraline by Neil Gaiman ... you're missing out on some of the creepiest children's literature out there. And if you don't like the Coraline nail art that follows, well, you're missing out some really creative nail painters! :)

Love the detail on this set.

{Oh my nails}

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

About The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are being such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.

The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal and is a Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel.

My thoughts

The book in one sentence: Escaping the blade of an assassin, a baby boy is saved by and taken care of by a graveyard, a paradoxical tale of the dead teaching the living how to live.

***

I've already raved that The Graveyard Book* is among my top children's books for 2009. I told my daughter to read it, and pretty sure she loved it as much as I did!

The storyline was the best thing about it -- unpredictable -- which is why I enjoyed it so much despite already knowing the gist. A baby escapes an assassin's blade by wandering into, of all places, a graveyard. Fortunately, there were kindhearted ghosts (and non-ghosts) who decided that "The dead should have charity," took him in and raised him. They not only took care of the normal human needs of food, clothing, shelter, they went one step further by giving him the "freedom of the graveyard" teaching Bod how to act like a ghost.

What I found interesting is how the fantastical graveyard world is interwoven so well with reality that  I didn't really question just how fantastically impossible all this is.

The characters definitely made this book. I fell in love with the graveyard characters: Bod our hero; the very caring Owens couple; sub teacher Miss Lupescu; the witch Liza Hempstock of Potter's Field; the ghouls who seemed to be nice but turned out to be Bod's enemy ... and our favourite guardian, Silas, ah Silas. The living, on the other hand, were not as likable, with the exception of Scarlett Amber Perkins, Bod's playmate who makes an appearance twice in the book. The villain Jack scared the *hit out of my daughter.

There was also some mystery about the characters to actually have long discussions with my 11-year- old. What exactly is Silas? We've speculated that he is vampire or a zombie because of the little clues scattered throughout the book. Miss Lupescu - that's easier because she claims what she is somewhere towards the end but you'll be second-guessing yourself in the beginning. And the Sleer? An ancient servant whose Master is unknown. Who is the Master and what exactly was the treasure? And we wondered why on earth The Jack of All Trades so wanted Bod and his family dead?

There was also a lot of sub-stories that it's difficult to get bored at any point: Bod's friendship with the witch Liza Hempstock and her desire to have her own gravestone; the friendship started and re-found with Scarlett Amber Perkins; and the Danse Macabre is a gem of a chapter which has evidence in many paintings and even music.

On another note, the illustrations were really great, though I know I would've enjoyed the book even without them. Though they really are more for oldies rather than a younger audience.

After all the Bod goes through with the graveyard characters, I still worry about Bod leaving the graveyard because this is all the family he ever knew. How can Bod possibly rip himself out of this loving environment? But the optimism that Gaiman puts into Bod stepping into the world leaves you to wish him the best.

My 11-year-old's thoughts

I liked the scariness of the book - I got really scared with The Man Jack because of how he killed Bod's family and was still looking for Bod. I really liked Silas and Miss Lupescu because of how well they took care of Bod. The Danse Macabre because the idea of the living dancing with the dead is really cool.

***

I decided to read this because: I was on a Neil Gaiman read-fest and this book won the Newbery for 2009.

I'd recommend it to: Children maybe 10 and above as it can get a little scary and you may have problems convincing them that Jack is not out there to get them too; Neil Gaiman fans - if you liked Coraline, am pretty sure you'll like this one.

First line: There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.

Last line: But between now and then, there was Life; and Bod walked into it with his eyes and his heart wide open.

Verdict

A must read for young and not-so-young. Never read Gaiman? Read this! 

Book Depository*

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman


I decided to read this because: the little one wanted to read it. I also seem to be on a Neil Gaiman run at the moment. So one more won't hurt.

First line: A is for always, that's where we embark.

I liked: I knew right off that this book was definitely not for the smaller ones. But then Gaiman has a darkness that seems to either be liked or hated, nothing in between. An older child (10 or older) would probably like it as it is funny, clever and gruesome in a Tim Burton kind of way. My 11-year-old liked it though she says that she found it a bit boring.

There are 13 rhyming couplets which tell the story of brother and sister and their pet gazelle. Sneaking past their father, they board a small boat, and the stream takes them into a mysterious underworld adventure where they face all manner of horrors - monsters, trolls and other scary things - to find the treasure.

Neil Gaiman got himself an illustrator (Gris Grimly -- is this his real name? Isn't the coincidence uncanny?) that matches his dark humor and the images are surreal, spidery, sepia-ed and non-cute. Look closely and there are monsters and maggots and all the good creepy stuff of Halloween. The story just wouldn't be the same without the illustrations to bring home the point.

I didn't like: The storyline isn't that obvious for a small child. Nonetheless, this isn't a way to teach very young ones the alphabet as it is an "incorrect" alphabet to start with (heehee). But hey, this is a modified alphabet so there was some leeway with some of the letters (e.g., W comes before V where "warnings" before "vile deeds"). 

Verdict: A witty alphabet with wonderfully creepy illustrations that will haunt and delight older readers.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis of Coraline by Neil Gaiman*: "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house. . . ." When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

My two cents 

I decided to read this because: I watched Coraline, the movie. I loved the movie, so of course I had to read the book. {Watch Coraline online here.}

The book in one sentence: Coraline, an unhappy girl with too-busy parents, stumbles onto an alternate reality where things work out the way she wants them to, until she realizes the horrors of things that are indeed too good to be true.

First line: Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.

I liked

The whole concept of the book. This book has been said to be a modern-day take on Alice in Wonderland. The door to the "better" world is to the rabbit hole, separating reality and a fantasy world. And while Coraline isn't the nice innocent Alice, you know that with a name like hers (it's Cora-LINE, not Caroline) that she is a unique character and bound to get into trouble.

There is a fantasy to the story line: be careful what you wish for ... you just might get it! Every child wishes they had nicer parents. And this book indulges that fantasy. Coraline enters an alternate reality where her "other" parents give her the time she craves, the things she wants, the food she loves. Her "Other Mother" is seemingly perfect and it isn't surprising that Coraline returns to this other world to satisfy herself.

But slowly, the fantasy shows itself to be too good to be true. I really enjoyed the creepiness of the book, as it slowly seeps in. If I were younger I would probably be scared to sleep alone immediately following reading this. The "Other Mother" slowly reveals who she really is, and you slowly realize -- with some dread -- that she is the villain of the story. (And sewing buttons on your eyes - is it just me, but isn't this morbid? I would think differently about buttons!) 

Coraline eventually learns that her "Other Mother" will never let her go once she gives in, and she will never see her real parents again. She also discovers that other children are trapped there too. The quest no longer just becomes to save herself, her parents, and life as she knew it, but about these lost souls who are the very picture of what Coraline could become.

Worth mentioning are the fantastic illustrations, which in black and white, lend even more creepiness!

Don't be surprised if your child becomes extra nice to you after reading this book. That's how it will scare him/her into realizing what a perfect mom/dad you really are!

I didn't like

I actually didn't expect to like this book as Neil Gaiman has a penchant for the dark and sinister. And indeed, this book isn't for everyone.

Verdict: Highly readable, fast action, and a mixture of horror and great morals. I wouldn't recommend this for very young kids (say below 10) as it is really scary! Surprisingly though, I found the movie to be less scary than the book.

Book facts: The book has won numerous awards, including the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers.

Random Quote: 

She will take your life and all you are and all you care'st for, and she will leave you with nothing but mist and fog. She'll take your joy. And one day you'll awake and your heart and your soul will have gone. A husk you'll be, a wisp you'll be, and a thing no more than a dream on waking, or a memory of something forgotten.

Book Depository

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (teaser)

After having read and watched Coraline, we've been looking up everything Neil Gaiman. Currently re-reading this fantastic book. Watch this teaser, narrated by Gaiman himself.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

A new-old fairy tale

About Stardust by Neil Gaiman: A breathtaking and magical novel from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall - named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...

My two cents

Beautifully told story about the coming-of-age of a young man who promises to fetch a fallen star for the woman he loves. He gets more than he bargains for and goes on a journey in Faerie, discovers his roots, and unwittingly discovers his true love and true self.

Good reading for young adults; although younger kids may want to watch the movie instead - the book has some tame sex scenes.

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