Fortunately, the Milk

by Neil Gaiman, Skottie Young (Illustrator)

Overview

An absolute delight of a madcap story for the young (and young-at-heart) by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with equal parts pirates and piranhas, adventure and aliens, oddity and love.

"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062224088
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/30/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	19,427
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for children and adults whose award-winning titles include Norse Mythology, American Gods, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), Coraline, and The Sandman graphic novels. Neil Gaiman is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR and Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

Skottie Young is an award-winning cartoonist and writer who illustrates New York Times bestselling adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz novels for Marvel Entertainment. His unique art style and sensibilities have drawn acclaim worldwide, earning him multiple Eisner Awards. He has worked in comics, toys, and animation for Marvel, Warner Bros., Image Comics, Mattel, Cartoon Network, and many more. Skottie lives in Illinois.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

Editorial Reviews

Gaiman knocks it out of the park again with this imaginative story. — School Library Journal

This would also make a wonderful readaloud, but don’t be surprised if the kids insist that it be read in one sitting—and maybe with a side of cookies and milk. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“[A] delightful tale.” — Wall Street Journal

“If your kids still allow you to read aloud to them, this book is for you.” — Newsday

“[A]n astounding tale…an absolute delight to read out loud….one part Douglas Adams, one part Doctor Who, and one part The Usual Suspects.” — boingboing.com

“It’s hard not to love a novel that borrows equally from Calvin and Hobbes and The Usual Suspects. If you read only one book this year, a story with dancing dwarfs is always a wise choice.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

This would also make a wonderful readaloud, but don’t be surprised if the kids insist that it be read in one sitting—and maybe with a side of cookies and milk.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

In a letter to readers, Gaiman explains that his rationale for writing this story, about a father who has taken an excessively long time to return from the corner store with milk for his children’s breakfast, stems from his reconsideration of the father in The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish. That dad, he realized, is “not really a positive portrayal of fatherhood”—he is a lump. To compensate, “I would write a book in which a father did all of the sorts of exciting things that fathers actually do.” He may have to try again: the father in this story is abducted by aliens, made to walk the plank by pirates, and rescued by a stegosaurus in a balloon, among other outrageous escapades. It reads like an extemporaneous riff by a clever father asked a question he doesn’t want to answer, and it makes an excellent gift for those heroic fathers who consider reading aloud to their children one of parenthood’s greatest joys. Young’s wiry, exuberant b&w caricatures (not all seen by PW) are incorporated throughout. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

This would also make a wonderful readaloud, but don’t be surprised if the kids insist that it be read in one sitting—and maybe with a side of cookies and milk.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

[A] delightful tale.

Wall Street Journal

If your kids still allow you to read aloud to them, this book is for you.

Newsday

[A]n astounding tale…an absolute delight to read out loud….one part Douglas Adams, one part Doctor Who, and one part The Usual Suspects.

boingboing.com

[A] delightful tale.

Wall Street Journal

This would also make a wonderful readaloud, but don’t be surprised if the kids insist that it be read in one sitting--and maybe with a side of cookies and milk.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Did you know that Neil Gaiman can sound like a stegosaurus, a pirate, a volcano god, and even a bunch of green blobby aliens? Not only that, but he sounds like he's having an utter ball while he narrates, and it's impossible not to be swept up into the brilliant, batty fun. A father steps out at breakfast time to pick up some milk at the corner store, and when he takes rather a long time getting back with it, he offers his waiting children an explanation that's part HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, part DOCTOR WHO, and completely, deliciously, delightfully absurd. Gaiman IS that father enthusiastically sharing his improbable story, and giggles are guaranteed for all ages. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2013 - AudioFile

Publishers used to say, "If you read only one book this year, make it this one." Gaiman has tried to write the only book anyone will need, ever, packing into it every adventure story written in the past 300 years. The book seems to include every plot on TVTropes.org. There's a time machine. There are "wumpires" and pirates. The story is simple: A father goes to the store to buy milk. The only trouble is, he's kidnapped by aliens, and by the end of the book, he's being threatened by dancing dwarfs. Sometimes the book feels like a personal bet between the writer and the illustrator: "But can you draw this?" Young is always up to the challenge, no matter what gets thrown at him. He makes pirates look both dangerous and adorable. But once in a while, readers may wish that the author would stop throwing things. The best scene in the book is brief and quiet. The father asks a time-traveling stegosaurus where all the dinosaurs went. "The stars," professor Steg says. "That is where we will have gone." Frenetic as the story is, it's hard not to love a novel that borrows equally from Calvin and Hobbes and The Usual Suspects. If you read only one book this year, a story with dancing dwarfs is always a wise choice. (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews