BOOK SUMMARY

Setting:
House
big garden
subdivided into multiple
CONCEPT:

flats Coraline explores

another world

Characters:

Coraline
Parents
"Other" Parents
Miss Forcible and Miss Spink
Old Man
Cat
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Highland Terriers haughty

Someone who is haughty looks down on others—

"meant business" "bucketing down" pattering

serious
raining a lot
make a repeated light

tapping sound.
 CHAPTER 1 SUMMARY
Major Events:
Coraline was bored and she

explored the flat

Setting: Opened door to drawing

House room and saw a brick wall

big garden she saw a shadow go into

subdivided into multiple

CONCEPT:
the drawing room
flats Setting Introduction she followed the shape and

Character Introduction heard singing

Characters: Key Ideas:

Parents: Coraline moved
Ignore Coraline She lives in a divided house (they own only one flat)

Miss Forcible + Miss Spink live in one of the other flats.
Miss Forcible and Miss Old man lives upstairs in the other flat (has mice)
Spink

Were previously

actresses
 Chapter 2 Vocabulary

Wellington Boots saucer

"trod the boards"

played "portia" "if both parties are willing"
ready, eager, or prepared,

to perform in a play eager, or prepared to do

characters in a Hamlet play by Shakespeear something. do something.

rotten weather pursed her lips

bad weather rotten = gone bad

triumphantly
"bring on her shingles"
shingles is a sickness

thimble
"frienzied wolfing down: eating wildly
 CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY Major Events:
Coraline goes on a walk
She sees the old man - He
talks about the mice
She has tea with Miss F +
Setting:
Miss S.
Outside the house on a
They "read" her tea leaves
walk
(a way of predicting the

CONCEPT:
future)
At Miss F + Miss S's flat Coraline has tea with Miss F + They say that she is "in
to have tea Miss S danger"

Characters: Key Ideas:

When Miss F + Miss S "read" her tea leaves. They say
Miss Forcible and Miss that she is in danger and should not wear green or go
Spink into the drawing room
They give her a stone with a hole in it to "help"
 Chapter 3 Vocabulary

drawing room

day glow gloves

a room in a large private house in which guests can be

received and entertained.

refused
corridor
Not willing to do or

hallway
accept something

synonyms for "spooky"

"on the safe side"

Just in case, to be safe, to be cautious

"suit yourself"

"ok, do whatever you want; I'm done arguing"

 CHAPTER 3 SUMMARY Major Events:
Coraline goes shopping
with Mum.
C gets left home alone
C goes into drawing room
Setting:
The door opens to a house
Outside the house on a
that looks almost EXACTLY
walk
like hers (except the picture

CONCEPT:
is different)
At Miss F + Miss S's flat Coraline explores door in She meets this "OTHER
to have tea Drawing Room FAMILY"

Characters: Key Ideas:

The drawing room door opens into a similar version of
Miss Forcible and Miss her house
Spink She has another family that looks similar but thinner,
paler, and "creepier" than her own family
 Chapter 4 Vocabulary

abruptly
identical
suddenly and unexpectedly.
not different or not

"the film ends rather abruptly"

differing from one another.

anteroom
rare specimens
a small room leading to a main one, typically serving as a waiting

not widely known or

room.
seen "the master suite has an anteroom, walk-in dressing room, and an

an-suite bathroom"

irritatingly
admitted
in a manner that causes annoyance,

impatience, or mild anger. confess to be true or to be the case.

"he keeps humming irritatingly" "the Home Office finally admitted that several prisoners

had been injured"

differential inhabitants

of, showing, or depending on a difference; varying according to

a person or animal that lives in or occupies a place.

circumstances or relevant factors.
"the differential achievements of boys and girls"
dagger
sensible
A dagger is a fighting knife

done or chosen in accordance with wisdom; likely to be of benefit. with a very sharp point and

"I cannot believe that it is sensible to spend so much" usually two sharp edges
 CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY Major Events:
Coraline talks to a cat
C visits Miss F and Miss S'
flat but it looks different
Their dog talks to her and
Setting:
asks for a ticket
The "other " world
When she gets inside, Miss
F + Miss S are performing a
CONCEPT:
circus routine and the dogs
Coraline explores the "other" are the audience
world She sees her "other family"
and they ask her to change
her eyes to button eyes
She wants to go, her other
Characters: Key Ideas: mother gets upset.

Her "other family" wants her
Miss F + Miss S to stay in this world
Dogs
The Cat
C's "Other" parents
 Chapter 5 Vocabulary
study (room)

"programs" pg. 47 A study, also known as a home

office, is a room in a house

that is used for paperwork,

TV shows computer work, or reading.

shriveled nefarious

wrinkled especially due to

loss of moisture. (especially of activities)

"the flowers simply

morally bad
Batman and Superman are always

shrivelled up" fighting evildoers and stopping their

nefarious plots.
fiendish extremely evil or cruel
press clippings

something (such as an
in an ironic way intended to mock or

article or a picture) that has

sarcastically convey contempt.
been cut out of a
""Great. Just great," I sarcastically

newspaper or magazine. remarked"

silhouetted
forefinger
the dark shape and outline of someone or something

the finger next to the thumb; the

visible in restricted light against a brighter

first or index finger. background.

 Chapter 5 Vocabulary

enfold maggot in an apple core

a soft-bodied legless larva of a fly or other insect,

hold or clasp (someone)

found in decaying matter.

lovingly in one's arms.

scarcely chittered

only just; almost not. make a twittering or chattering sound.

"her voice is so low I can scarcely hear
"a pair of hawks arced chittering through the darkness"
what she is saying"

reluctance trivialities

feeling or showing hesitation, or

a quality of being unimportant or insignificant.
unwillingness. reluctant to get

involved.
luminous
dressing gown

A dressing gown is a long, loose garment which

giving off light : shining. : being lighted.

you wear over your night clothes when you are

not in bed.
insinuating
gleam
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way.
a small briefly visible light He made an insinuating remark about me talking in class
 Major Events:
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY C goes home and locks the
door to the drawing room
Her parents are not home
She tells Miss F + Miss S
that her parents are
missing (they don't worry)
She is scared.
The cat walks her up and
Setting: CONCEPT:
implies that it can show her
The "other " world Coraline goes back to "other" where her parents are
world to find her parents the cat takes her to a
mirror
She sees her mother and
father in the mirror
They say "HELP US"
Characters: Key Ideas: She goes back to the

Her "other family" tell her drawing room
Cat that her parents don't love The other family tell her
"other" family her that her parents probably
They take the black key left because they were
bored of her
The other mother takes the
black key
 Chapter 6 Vocabulary

"cracks and

dislocated
"She was dislocated" depressions"
She felt out of place.
when one or more bones

a line on the surface of something along which

at a joint moves out of

it has split without breaking apart.

place.

mantelpiece

"fraction of a second"
a structure of wood, marble, or

stone above and around a

an instant., suddenly fireplace.

cruder
raggedy

made in a simple or makeshift way

scruffy; shabby.
"an old raggedy woman with her

uncombed cat" "splodge of something"

a large blob or smear of something; a splotch.

 Chapter 6 Vocabulary

merciful
caressed
compassion or forgiveness shown towards

someone whom it is within one's power to punish or

touch or stroke gently or lovingly.
harm. "she caressed the girl's forehead"
"the boy was screaming and begging for mercy"

tendency
manners makyth man

an inclination towards a particular characteristic or type of

behaviour. a proverb that means

"for students, there is a tendency to socialize in the evenings" politeness, good manners

and civility are essential to

humanity.
dust motes

a very small piece of dust, dirt,

etc. a mote [=speck] of dust.
 Major Events:
C gets dressed but
everything is fancy

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY costumes

C's "other" dad tells her
that he's not allowed to talk
to her anymore
C learns from the cat that
the mice are the "spies"
Setting: CONCEPT:
the "other" mother does
The "other " world Coraline tries to explore the not like the cat
other world The "other" Mother (OM)
gives C a bag of beetles
O.M wants to play with C
but she refuses
OM throws C inside a dim
Characters: Key Ideas: closet and tells her that she

Her Other Family (OF) is can't come out until she's
Cat mean learned her manners
"other" family The Other World only
consists of the house. There
is no forest or outside world
 Chapter 7 Vocabulary

time beyond
imprisoned
reckoning
captive
"Beyond reckoning" means outside the bounds of

calculation. "Delicious beyond reckoning" = It is so

delicious that one couldn't even work out ...

pitch dark
scullery door
completely dark.
a small kitchen or room at the

back of a house used for washing

dishes and other dirty household

beldam work.

a malicious or loathsome old woman. hollow

governess
having a hole or empty

space inside.

(especially in former times) a woman

employed to teach children in a private

household.
 Major Events:
C is sad
C wants to scream but
CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY hears a whisper telling her
to be quiet because "the
beldam might be listening"
She meets 3 children and
they say that they have
been imprisoned
Setting: CONCEPT:
They said that "she" stole
The "other " world Coraline meets three children in their hearts and souls and
the "other" world imprisoned them in the
dark
They talk about how they
met their "other" mother
They tell her to try to run
Characters: Key Ideas:
away but C wants to rescue

C learns that three other
her parents
three children children were trapped in this
C plans on rescuing her
other world like C is.
parents and these children
She plans on rescuing her
The children tell her to look
family and these children.
through the stone
 Chapter 8 Vocabulary

keep your word

sob welling up

do what one has promised.

about to cry
"you know that I always keep

my word"

we love the sinner

and we hate the sin

We like bad people, but we hate when

nondescript
they do bad things

lacking distinctive or interesting

features or characteristics.
unconcerndness "she lived in a nondescript

suburban apartment block"

Not anxious or

apprehensive; unworried
 Major Events:
C is carried by the "other
mother" (OM)
C asks the OM to play a

CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY game. If the OM wins, C will

stay in the "other world"
and the OM can replace her
eyes with buttons. If she
loses, then she has to let C,
the children, and her
parents go
Setting: CONCEPT:
They will play a "finding
The "other " world Coraline makes a deal with the things" game
Other Mother The OM agrees to the deal
C looks for the other souls
She looks through the
stone to help her
Characters: Key Ideas: The stone shows a glass

C makes a deal with OM to marble glow - She found
The Other Mother help her escape the other one of the children's lost
world souls!
she has to find the "lost She looks in Miss F and Miss
souls" S's flat for another marble.
She finds two of the lost souls She sees one but needs to
wrestle a creature to get to
it
 Chapter 9 Vocabulary

revulsion
mildewed

mold or fungus a sense of disgust and

loathing.

miser vigorously

a person who hoards wealth and

in a way that involves physical strength,

spends as little money as possible. effort, or energy; strenuously.

"a typical miser, he hid his money in
"she shook her head vigorously"
the house in various places"

trap door

a hinged or removable

panel in a floor, ceiling,

or roof.
 Major Events:
The world is covered in

mist
CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY The other mother (OM) is

mad.
The OM gives C a key to

the empty flat

a voice warns her not to

go in
Setting: CONCEPT:
The children tell her

The "other " world Coraline gets chased by the that the OM Would

Now MISTY "Other Father" never try to help her

C goes in anyway
She opens a trap door on

the floor and descends

(goes down)
Characters: Key Ideas: She sees a creature with

The Other Father has been
buttons for eyes - it is her

The Other Mother turned into a creature "Other" father

The Father (creature) C has to run from him It chases C
C is scared
 Chapter 10 Vocabulary

distort
decapitated
1. pulled or twisted out of shape;

contorted.
to cut off the head
2. giving a misleading or false

account or impression;

misrepresented.
"his report gives a distorted view of

the meeting"

tarragon

a perennial plant of the daisy

family, with narrow aromatic

leaves that are used as a

culinary herb.

pell-mell

in a confused, rushed, or

disorderly manner.
"they rushed pell-mell up the

hill"

 Major Events:
C goes into the old man's
flat
CHAPTER 10 SUMMARY The rats are singing
She hears a voice call to
her
The old man tells her to
stay in this world
C looks through the stone
Setting: CONCEPT:
and sees a glow from the
The "other " world Coraline searches for the last chest of the man
marble The man is actually a
bunch of rats in the
shape of a man (ew!)
The cat helps bring her
the marble
Characters: Key Ideas: C realizes that her

C gets the last marble parents must be in the
The cat C realizes where her parents snowglobe
The Old Man (rats) must be
 Chapter 11 Vocabulary

reassurance

the action of removing someone's doubts or fears.

"children need reassurance and praise

deceived

deliberately cause (someone) to believe something

that is not true, especially for personal gain.

"I didn't intend to deceive people into thinking it was

French champagne"

insubstantial

lacking strength and solidity.

"the huts are relatively few and insubstantial"

 Major Events:
The OM keeps telling C
that she loves her
CHAPTER 11 SUMMARY They go into the Drawing
room
The OM asks for the
marbles and C shows
them to her
C doesn't want OM to
Setting: CONCEPT: know that she knows
The "other " world
where her parents are.
Coraline escpaes She convinces OM to
unlock and open the door
that looks at the
passageway, once it is
open she flings that cat
Characters: Key Ideas: at the OM's head and

C gets the snowglobe with grabs the snow globe and
The cat her parents in it runs down the hall
The Other Mother She escapes C yanks the door shut
She makes it back home
 Chapter 12 Vocabulary

britches

bonnet
Breeches are an article of

clothing covering the body

a woman's or child's hat tied

from the waist down, with

under the chin and with a brim

separate coverings for each

framing the face. leg, usually stopping just below

"these specially designed

the knee, though in some cases

bonnets provide warmth,

reaching to the ankles.
protection, and cushioning for

babies"

romp
honeysuckle blossom

a climbing plant with white,

(especially of a child or animal) play

yellow, or red flowers that

roughly and energetically. smell sweet.

"the noisy pack of children romped

around the gardens"

 CHAPTER 12 SUMMARY Major Events:
C's real mother wakes
her up
She finds 3 marbles, the
stone, the black key, and
the snow globe in her
Setting: CONCEPT:

pocket.
Caroline's real home
Coraline is back home She is grateful to be with
her parents again.
She has a dream that she
is having a picnic with the
other lost children
Characters: Key Ideas: C finds the OM's hand in

C is back home the new world. It is
Carolines "real" mother The OM's hand has made it searching for her key.
into the real world
 Chapter 13 Vocabulary

shipshape dilapitated

in good order; trim and neat. (of a building or object) in a

"he checked that everything

state of disrepair or ruin as

was shipshape" a result of age or neglect.

"old, dilapidated buildings"

hedge

a fence or boundary formed by

closely growing bushes or shrubs.

 CHAPTER 13 SUMMARY
Major Events:
C goes to Miss F and Miss
S's and they read her tea
leaves (her future)
They are clumped
Setting: CONCEPT:

together and show a
Caroline's real home
Coraline is back home hand
The old man said that
something is scaring his
mice and keeping them
up at night
Characters: Key Ideas: She awakes to the hand

C traps the OM's hand that scratching at her window
the OM's hand was chasing the key She makes a "trap" to
catch the hand
She traps the hand!