Caroline: Little House, Revisited

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I finally read this with my kids after seeing the movie a hundred times. We were surprised that the movie stayed fairly close to the book minus a few differences like the addition of a character and small details like the mango milkshake. It was fun reading along and having the image of the movie characters in our minds. I also didn’t particularly care for the way she writes the relationship between Caroline and Charles. I always thought of them as equals in that they cared for and respected each other. But the way she writes Charles’ love for Caroline as that of some kind of worship really bothered me. I don’t believe it and I don’t think it’s appropriate. Sarah Miller really dives deep on Caroline, bringing up the historical facts of her own childhood (losing her own father at age five and being raised by a stepfather) to process the relationships she saw between Charles and the girls. She really examines the relationship between Caroline and Charles, a very tight, loving relationship that any couple would envy. when I started reading this book, I felt so excited because I was in reading slump ( and I'm probably still am) but I got a little bit bored when I was in the beginning maybe I felt a little bit bored because I already knew about the story but it was just a little bit. and Coraline was so cute and she was brave, clever and she also loved adventure! I mean, she was just a kid but she was SO brave. what could I do when I was around her age? possibly nothing important. you'll know what I mean if you've read this book, if you haven't then you have to read it. IT WAS SO GOOD! I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, William Morrow Books!

Yet Coraline is written so simply and poetically that it’s almost meant to be listened to. The audio version that I borrowed from the library has a full cast, and it’s one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever encountered. Plus, having the story read aloud to you only adds to the experience of being returned to your childhood. It’s just wonderful. Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.’LOL So funny and so true of children. I'm glad Gaiman isn't trying to make Coraline into a 'little adult.' And, now that I think about it, nor is he trying to force some kind of 'healthy eating' agenda down readers' throats. Ugh, I hate that shit. Instead, he's absolutely captured childhood with perfection. This isn’t a remotely teachy or preachy book, but Coraline learns a lot about life, familial love, and especially herself. She finds bravery she didn’t know she had, but she faces temptation as well. “ The other mother loved her… as a dragon loves gold.” The other mother offers her everything she thinks she wants. But there is a price, and Coraline has a Eureka moment, and declares: I am telling you this that it's never too late to read a good book. No matter what the genre it belongs to. The things I hated are based wholly on my own tastes and opinions, not anything empirical. For instance, Miller's prose--to my mind--is often overwrought. Obviously, this being a major publication from Harper-Collins, it was edited by at least one or two editors who had no problem with this prose. It feels as though it fits Caroline's personality. It is a similar voice to how Laura wrote the initial books, and given that it's directed at adults and not children, the extra wordiness of the prose can be forgiven, but I found myself rolling my eyes at times. It’s all a little bit of a mystery. What drove this woman to such depravity? What happened in her life that she needed to feed upon the love of children? What has she lost? Where did it all begin? I can only speculate. But one thing remains an absolute certainty to my mind; something terrible happened to the “other mother” a long time ago, something awful that drove her into the deepest depths of despair and as a result she clings to the essence of life: love.

I liked the idea of the book, about reading about Charles, Caroline, and the children traveling to Kansas. If you have read the books and/or seen the TV series is this a must read. Sure, I found the story not perhaps living up to my expectations, but at the same time was it interesting to get Caroline's POV on leaving the old life behind. And, her worries about the baby was the thing that really got to me, just the thought of how worrisome everything would be, not even knowing if there would be someone in Kansas there to help her with the birthing. I just wish the story had been a bit more moving or in some way more engrossing.

Other stories

Sarah Miller revists the Ingalls family, telling the story from Caroline Ingalls' perspective. The life of a pioneer family from an adult's view is still magical.....but also harsh, frightening and unforgiving. As a biographic fiction, Sarah Miller’s Caroline played to that interest. Laura created her own legacy and one could make a solid argument for Michael Landon’s iconic portrayal of Charles, but Caroline was regulated to a supporting role in both the books and television series so I was naturally interested in seeing what sort of depth Miller’s novel might bring her character. Could such a story compete with the existing canon and cultural memory? There was only one way to find out. Coraline is a short but delightfully dark and creepy book that just happens to feature one of my absolute favorite characters. Is it wrong that I want to be Coraline's best friend??? Caroline Campbell’s book reminds us, that for much of history, however, a great deal of artistic production has been about something different: the exercise of power. In many parts of the world, it remains so into the present. In a series of case studies of 15 world cities, Campbell sets out to explore how rulers have synthesised paintings, statuary, and the built environment into “total” experiences that promote values and protect dynasties. Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.

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. This is creepy and exciting and beautifully written and filled with wonderful characters and settings and scenes. I love Neil Gaiman, as of recently, and I most especially love Coraline (both book and character). I love it enough to read it multiple times, and also read the graphic novel at least once (possibly more), and also see the movie several times over (including in theaters with my whole family, including my very very small and very very scared brother). The movie adaption gives some brief idea of where she came from; she is Wyborn’s Grandma’s sister. But I’m not sure how much of this we can actually consider. Although the movie was written in collaboration with Gaiman neither of the characters actually appear in the book. So I’m left with even more speculation. 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, 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.Caroline’s character, in both the book and television series, was never featured as prominently as perhaps it should have been. She maintained a steady, consistent, and somewhat stereotyped wife/mother role. I’m pleased that someone saw fit to explore her life in more depth.