Coraline moved to a big, old house with her parents. The house had an attic at the top and a cellar at the bottom. The garden was full of big trees and bushes. Coraline's family only lived in part of the house. Other people lived there too. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible lived downstairs. They were old and had many little dogs. Coraline also met a man upstairs who said he had a circus of mice, but she never saw it.

Coraline loved exploring. She walked around the big garden every day. She found many interesting things like a hedgehog and a toad. She also found an old well. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible told her the well was dangerous, so Coraline made sure she knew where it was. There was also a black cat in the garden that Coraline tried to play with, but it always ran away.

One day, it rained a lot, and Coraline had to stay inside. She was bored and asked her mom what to do. Her mom suggested reading a book or watching TV, but Coraline wanted to explore. Her dad told her to explore inside the house. Coraline counted the doors and windows. She found one locked door in the drawing room. She asked her mom about it, and they opened it together. Behind the door was a brick wall. Coraline was curious but didn't know what it meant.