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Coraline - Curiosity Gone Wrong

 

Coraline - Curiosity Gone Wrong

Coraline is a fantastic book that gets a bad reputation due to the movie. The movie has a heavy emphasis on being creepy and using frequent jump scares. The book has profound themes in it, and it is a book I have read to my own children. 


Synopsis

Coraline is a girl who has just moved to a new flat in the Pink Palace along with her parents. In this large divided house, Coraline has neighbors in the basement and roof flat. One rainy day after exploring the house, Coraline finds a door that leads to the empty flat, or so she thinks. Her mother opens the door to reveal a solid brick wall on the other side of the door. 

Coraline is disappointed but keeps thinking about that door. Her roof neighbor tells her not to open the door, while the basement neighbors read her tea leaves to tell her she is in grave danger. Even with these warnings, Coraline decides to open the door when her mother makes a grocery run. 

When she opens the door she finds a passage. It leads to another world that contains her "other mother." In that other world, she gets treated like a princess. She is served mouth-watering food, has her full parents' attention, life-like toys, and even gets to play with some rats. Well... the rats part is weird but the rest is fantastic. Her 'other mother" says that she can stay, she just has to sow these black buttons onto.... her eyes... Coraline has been skeptical to this point but now she is determined to leave for her home. After arriving home she locks the door and hides the key. Then something strange happens. Her parents aren't there. They don't come back that night. They aren't there the next day. They never return. Coraline knows where they are but can she bring herself to save them? Can she go back to the 'other mother's" lair to save her parents? 

Curiosity Gone Wrong

What are these profound themes I discussed earlier you may ask. I see three themes for kids and one for parents in this book. 

The Parents

For the parents, we see what happens when we neglect our children. Her parents are busy with their work and rarely spend time with her. They push her away so they can work in peace. Coraline tries to talk with them but they tune her out. Her parents should be a lifeline for her when she is curious about the door but she doesn't have a relationship with them. This book shows us the importance of being involved in the lives of our children. This is especially true when we live with the internet and smartphones that look to exploit the natural curiosity we have. 

The Children

For the children, we have three lessons:
  • Curiosity can lead us to bad places
  • Choices of children can impact parents
  • Sweet talk is a tactic to lead us to destruction

Curiosity

Coraline is a curious child as many of us were. She has a well-formed conscience. This is shown when
she opens the door. She has a moment where she thinks, I know what I am doing is wrong. She has been warned about the dangers of the door. Even with all this, her curiosity wins out and she goes through the door. She could have avoided all the trouble she faced if she controlled her curiosity. 

Choices

Kids often think of their parents as untouchable. Nothing can harm mommy and daddy. My choices could never cause them harm. As parents, we know this isn't true. The choices our children make impact us on a physical, mental, and spiritual level. Coraline makes the choice to indulge her curiosity and this leads to the capture of her parents. Kids need to know that they have a role to play in the family. They also need to know that their choices have consequences for themselves, their family, and those around them. 




Sweet Talk

Shifting stories real quick, one of my favorite parts of Star Wars Episode II is when we see how Obi-wan and Palpatine interact with Anakin. Obi-wan genuinely cares about Anakin but poorly presents this to Anakin. Palpatine sweet talks Anakin. Anakin feels good around Palpatine. However, we know that Palpatine only wishes to use Anakin to further his plans. This is what we see in Coraline. The "other mother" sweet-talks Coraline so she can sow buttons in her eyes and have her soul. The devil uses the same tactic while trying to get us to sin. This book wonderfully shows kids how sweet words can be dangerous to us. 

Final Thoughts

I would give this book an 8/10 rating. It is an engaging story with the appropriate pacing. As with any book you read to your kids, I would suggest reading this book first on your own. It is a fun fairytale that you won't want to put down. After reading it, you can read it with your kids and explain the main themes you want them to take away from it. This is a book I would recommend adding to your library. 

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Location: Kansas, USA

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