Coraline by Neil Gaiman

For those who don't know the plot, Coraline is a little girl who moves into an old house with her mother and father. Her parents certainly cannot be accused of paying too much attention to her, and prefer not to be bothered by her for the most part, as they both work from home. So Coraline must amuse herself. While exploring their new home, she finds a locked door that, when opened, reveals nothing but a brick wall on the other side. But for some reason Coraline is drawn to the door. And after opening it a couple of times on different days, one day she opens it to find a hallway leading somewhere, no more brick wall. Of course she follows it.
On the other side she finds her Other Mother and her Other Father, and all of the characters that live in her building are there, they are simply creepier versions of themselves. And they all have buttons for eyes. Coraline soon comes to realize that the one in charge in this creepy place is the Other Mother - it is she who wants to keep Coraline there forever, and will stop at nothing to fulfill this desire.
I loved this book, which was sort of expected. I saw the movie first, which is not something I usually do, but it did not really spoil anything for me. The two are different from each other, with additional characters being added in the movie, but for the most part the stories are the same. This is a fast-paced, creepy story that would be enjoyed by any older kids, as well as teens and adults. And one thing I have to say about movies made from books by Neil Gaiman - they seem to turn out okay. I have been so horrified by what Hollywood does to some wonderful books (exhibit A - The Golden Compass), but both of the book-to-movie adaptations I've seen have been slightly different from the book, but still very good. I really enjoyed both the book and the movie of Stardust, and the same goes for Coraline.
Coraline was reviewed by Dewey back in October of 2007. I think my favorite thing that she has to say about it is that rather having Dakota Fanning in a movie version, she wanted to see a 1988 Winona Rider. The Unshelved Book Club also did a comic strip about Coraline. It's pretty funny, so I thought I would share it with you. If you would like to see the challenges for Dewey's books and the Unshelved Book Club, you can find them here and here (respectively).

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I picked up The Tale of Despereaux because of the movie that came out a few months ago. I didn't see the movie, and I actually heard that it wasn't very good, but I had the book at home anyway. And then I realized that it was on the list for the Unshelved Bookclub. I signed up for a challenge to read three of these books before June, so it works out well. Unshelved is a comic strip about working at a library, and it is right-on most of the time. Here is what the website says about the bookclub: "Every Sunday our characters talk about a book they've read in full-page full-color comic strips. " The comic strip about The Tale of Despereaux is not particularly amusing or insightful, but it does give a fairly decent summary of the plot.
Despereaux is a tiny mouse: the only one of his litter to survive, he was born with his eyes open. This would be enough for his family to find him strange, but his odd behavior continually sets him apart, eventually leading to his banishment. He refuses to learn how to scurry, and when he one day hears beautiful music, he follows the sound and finds the Princess Pea, who he promptly falls in love with. When she is kidnapped, he must face his fears to save her, the way a knight in a fairytale would.
I loved this story, and I definitely plan on having a copy around for myself. This would be a perfect book to read to child, one that they could grow into and read for themselves one day. It has some sadness - the fact that Despereaux is the only one of his litter who lives through their birth; the serving girl Miggery Sow (the name is bad enough), who has been beaten so badly throughout her life that she has gone practically deaf; the Queen who dies of fear of a rat. And even the protagonists are shown as having darkness in their hearts. Despereaux must learn to forgive his family for their part in his banishment, and the Princess must forgive the rat who kidnaps her. The whole story is done so well, however, I am in no way interested in seeing a movie version of it now. It's one of those books that is better read out loud than seen on screen.