Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman: Book Review

Title: Fortunately, the Milk
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 2013
Number of Pages: 114
Series Notes: Stand Alone
Reason for Discovery: The Internet

According to GoodReads:
"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: T h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal, expertly told by Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young.
I have read several Neil Gaiman books over the years including The Graveyard Book, Stardust, Coraline, and American Gods. I found them all interesting, and I liked the worlds that Gaiman had created; however, I never had my socks knocked off by Gaiman. I really wanted to love his books, but I could only muster a strong like. This all changed when I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Anyway, this review is about Fortunately, the Milk. Gaiman has wowed me twice in one year! This book was so darling. The writing was spot on. The story truly sounded like a story that a father would tell his children but with that extra Neil Gaiman zest. I found myself smiling and imaging Gaiman reading the book to me.

I feel that the story is one that would hold a child's attention, plus there are a number of tongue in cheek references that will enchant adults too. I really liked how the text appeared on the page. For the most part, it was standard text; however, lines that needed emphasis were enlarged and were in bold. Plus, when the children broke into the story, their lines appeared differently. The text, the words, and the illustrations work very well together to tell an incredible story about a father trying to get his children milk for their cereal. Another great thing about this story is that it is simply a story. There are some educational moments; however, this book is just about having an adventure. This is a story that I can see myself rereading and reading to my children one day.

I would recommend reading the physical book over the e-book for Fortunately, the Milk. I normally would not recommend this; however, lots of the pictures are over two pages. You miss out on this with the e-book version (at least that is what I noticed on my e-reader, I may have missed a setting).

I give this book 5 out of 5 milk bottles.


8 comments:

Chanzie said...
October 16, 2013 at 7:04 AM

What an interesting review :) I think I would have skipped past a book like this because of the child-like cover but you never know what will happen when I have kids one day and I need to find a good story for them (As hopefully they will be readers too!)

Great review :)

Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.

Tabitha (Pabkins) said...
October 16, 2013 at 8:05 PM

Tongue in cheek! woohoo! I really look forward to reading this sometime. It'll probably be something I'll save for a long time from now to read together with my child. I did hear Gaiman do a reading from it when I went to his signing. So I'll definitely be purchasing this sometime!

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...
October 16, 2013 at 8:26 PM

Oh this sounds delightful and magical. I am glad you mentioned the book over ebook, since I would have sent it to my niece as an ebook...but do not want to ruin illustrations!

Unknown said...
October 16, 2013 at 11:44 PM

Thanks! I wouldn't have picked it up, if had been written by anyone else but Neil Gaiman. His writing is just lovely in this little book.

Unknown said...
October 16, 2013 at 11:45 PM

It will take you less than 30 minutes to read, but it will definitely make you smile. :)

Unknown said...
October 16, 2013 at 11:47 PM

This is one of those books that just works better as a physical book. You want to be able to see the pictures on both pages at the same time. :) You might be able to see both pictures at the same time on a tablet. I just tried it on my kindle.

Berls said...
October 18, 2013 at 10:46 PM

This sounds so sweet! One of my friends is getting ready to have a baby and I've been earmarking books for story time - I'll put this one of my list for when he gets a little older. We're on a mission to make sure he's a reader! Great review!

Unknown said...
October 19, 2013 at 6:39 PM

I love that idea of bookmarking good books for little ones. I feel that books for kids can be hit or miss a lot of the time, so it is good that you have a set of recommendations ready to go!

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