Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Pages: 160
Format: Hardcover
Source: Personal purchase
Description:
You know what it’s like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is DON’T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back.
Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk.
My thoughts:
Written by one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, Fortunately, the Milk was one of the cutest stories I've read in a very long time. The subject matter is actually a very simple one: mom goes away for a conference, two siblings are left with their dad. When he sees there's no milk for breakfast (for children's cereal, but more importantly, for his tea, and Neil himself according to the illustrations-- the resemblance is uncanny!), he goes to the shop to get some. The siblings wait and wait... No milk, no dad for a long time. When he gets back home, they question him about why he took so long. That's when the real adventure starts.
Apparently, it didn't take the dad long to get the milk, but on his way back home, the flying object he sees in the sky takes him away. While time traveling, he meets a dinosaur, wumpires, pirates and much, much more. He was lucky all the way through because fortunately, the milk was in his possession at all times.
Chris Riddell's illustrations are just as weird and colorful as Neil's story (and what a fun last name he has!). Even though it's targeted at children, I'm sure adults will get a kick out of it as well.
