Beth And Chrissi Do Kid-Lit 2017 – AUGUST READ – Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

What’s it all about?:

You know what it’s like when your mom 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.

What did I think?:

I’ve only recently got into the magical world of Neil Gaiman’s writing and I’m loving the whole experience. I’ve read a couple of his adult books now and a few of his graphic novels so when the time came for Chrissi and I to prepare our Kid Lit list for this year we wanted to include one of Neil’s children’s books – Fortunately, The Milk which is part text, part illustration by the wonderful talent that is Chris Riddell. I have to say, the illustrations in this story really brought an extra something to the narrative and gave me such a warm, fuzzy feeling when I was reading this but even without the drawings, the story stands confidently on its own and would bring so much joy and happiness to children and adults alike who read it. It certainly made me smile multiple times when I was reading it and I can’t wait to read it to my nephew whom I’m sure would hoot with laughter at it.

Fortunately, The Milk is the story of a normal father and his two children whom he is tasked with looking after when his wife goes away for a short period of time. He almost fails at the first hurdle when he forgets to replenish the milk stock for the children’s cereal in the morning but pops out to the corner shop to get some and is gone an extraordinarily long time. When he comes back and the children quiz him about where he has been he tells them a fantastical tale of pirates in the eighteenth century, vampires (or wumpires) that want to destroy him and an ancient tribe that fancy him for a sacrifice, a Stegosaurus in a hot air balloon, aliens that want to take over the world and a galactic police manned by dinosaurs. Throughout it all, all he is concerned about is keeping the milk safe and getting back to his children so that they can have their cereal. In the end, it is down to that little carton of milk which ends up saving the world!

This is a fantastic and hilarious adventure that had me captivated throughout. It’s fairly short so I think it will appeal to a variety of age ranges but is also action-packed so there’s little chance of boredom. I already knew of Chris Riddell’s talent as an illustrator but I really loved the drawings in this story, they complimented Neil Gaiman’s writing perfectly and were so entertaining to look at I actually read the book a little slower just so I could stare at them a bit longer and fully appreciate them. Fortunately, The Milk is definitely a book I would enjoy reading to children, I can already imagine all the voices I could do (especially for the wumpires) and it has the potential to become a classic piece of children’s literature.

Would I recommend it?:

But of course!

Star rating (out of 5):