Fortunately, I was able to read this book. It is a delightfully light, funny, and enjoyable read. When the book begins, the mother of a young boy and his little sister leaves for a trip. The family runs out of milk, so the father sets out to the corner shop to buy some. He is gone for a rather long time, and when he gets back he tells them that he was on his way home when he was abducted by aliens who wanted to redecorate the planet. He manages to escape, but meets a bunch of pirates, and so on and so forth until he finally makes it back home.
Fortunately, the story was completely engrossing and lovely. It is a whimsical tale of pirates, vampires, dinosaurs who are professors and world-renown for their time travel, piranhas, aliens, and more. The story is funny, creative, and full of adventure.
Fortunately, Skottie Young is a wonderful illustrator and brought this story to life. The illustrations complement the silliness and craziness of this story perfectly. Everything feels a little over the top, much like the story does. Young’s illustrations make the story the father weaves feel as entertaining and as wild as the father’s story itself. So much fun! Also, I don’t know if it was just me, but the kids’ dad kind of looks like the Fourth Doctor. It can’t just be me, right?
Fortunately, I can buy a copy of this book for myself (I checked it out from the library).
Fortunately, the Milk
Written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Skottie Young
Published by HarperCollins; September 2013
114 pages (hardcover)