Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed 2002 novel, Coraline, about a girl who ventures through a door into a strange, parallel world, hits theaters February 6. Directed by Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach; The Nightmare Before Christmas), the movie features the voice of Dakota Fanning as Coraline, with Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman as her parents. It is the first stop-motion animated film to be shot in stereoscopic 3D (using dual digital cameras), with Laika Entertainment handling the animation of the Focus Features movie. (The film’s lush Web site offers a taste of the film’s aesthetic, as well as activities and behind-the-scenes videos.)

HarperCollins, publisher of Coraline, is offering a number of tie-ins to the film, along with the original edition. Coraline: A Visual Companion by Stephen Jones goes on sale this month from Harper’s adult William Morrow division, offering photographs, production designs and interviews with the crew. This past fall, Harper published the hardcover Coraline: The Movie Collector’s Edition by Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean, with a tie-in cover, color photo insert and excerpt from the film script (a paperback Coraline Movie Tie-in with tie-in cover went on sale this month). And the Coraline brand expanded even further last summer with the publication of Gaiman’s Coraline Graphic Novel, illustrated by P. Craig Russell.

To promote the film, starting Friday, Gaiman will offer Coraline (the book) in its entirety on his Mouse Circus Web site; site visitors will be able to page through it online, but it will not be downloadable. The book will be viewable there through February 27. And HarperCollins will support the film with a contest beginning February 19, which will offer prizes including the company’s Coraline tie-ins, other Gaiman titles, the Coraline movie poster and the Coraline video game for Nintendo’s Wii.

However, the Coraline film isn’t Gaiman’s only project for children this year. Hot on the heels of his October 2008 novel, The Graveyard Book, come two spring picture books from HarperCollins. Blueberry Girl, illustrated by Charles Vess, due out in March, follows the path of a baby as she grows into a young woman. And Crazy Hair, illustrated by Dave McKean (with whom Gaiman collaborated for The Wolves in the Walls), about a girl who makes some surprising discoveries when she tries to tame her friend’s unruly hair, arrives in June.